Laurels
by Insanity-Red
Summary: Bonnie Bennett has a younger sister, albeit estranged due to their father's dislike for her practice of magic. With strained relationships abounding, how will practical Rue deal with the incoming vampire drama? And at what point do family ties become the proverbial cement shoes, with the only options being to either cut them loose, or to drown? Pairing undecided, if any.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Idea's been steadily gaining detail inside my head for months now. Might as well write it out. Got a few chapters, but may or may not continue it long term.

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Laurels – Chapter One

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 _She has a laurel wreath in her hair, twined together with her curls like cuddling serpents. The only other thing she wears is a Greek chiton, colored a shade of white stark enough to make her skin all the darker and richer in comparison. Behind her stands a throne, carved into the base of a great, black tree atop a hill. Before her lies a field of bodies._

 _Not just bodies; corpses – carelessly arranged, as though some capricious god has dropped them from above the clouds to land where they may. They were once her enemies, she knows. From their broken skin, dark, viscous blood oozes out – tributaries, adding to the ever-growing pool congealing at the tips of her bare toes._

 _She watches this red ocean seep forward, as though to wash over her feet in a perverted mandatum. It splits before it can touch her skin, crawling up the hill in twin rivers for the consumption of the tree's giant roots. She turns from the field of broken enemies to gaze at the tree. As it drinks, its barren limbs sprout new leaves – all the same sanguine shade._

 _She goes to the throne and places herself in it. It is hers – she belongs there. A crow lands on her shoulder, talons staining her white clothes with red and pricking at the skin beneath. A snake writhes its way around her forearm, tongue flickering against her pulse point. Something trickles down her brow, and she finds that her wreath has begun to bleed._

Rue woke slowly from her latest dream, lying in bed with her eyes closed for a moment or two.

'Okay… so I just dreamed about victory and glory via the broken, bleeding corpses of enemies that I don't even have,' she mused. 'I get the feeling that things are going to get interesting in the near future.'

She sighed, more miffed about having to get up than upset at her gory dream – it wasn't the first disturbing dream she'd ever had, not by a longshot. She rolled out of bed to traipse her way to the bathroom for her morning ablutions.

A quick shower later she was dressed in a pair of high-waisted jeans and a butter-yellow ruffle front blouse with short puff sleeves, with a dove-grey knit cardigan over the top to combat against the early autumn chill. She gave herself a brief once-over in the mirror, put on some of her favorite plum purple lipstick, and gathered up her bag that she had packed the night before for the first day of school. With an affectionate trail of her fingers over the leaves of the bay laurel tree in the corner of her room, she shut her bedroom door behind her and headed down the stairs.

"You're up early, Sassafras," Sheila Bennett told her youngest granddaughter, smirking behind her large cup of tea.

Rue could smell it from across the room – Grams' personal blend of herbs, mixed with a not-so-reasonable shot of something a little stronger. It was the only real evidence that she was getting somewhat fed up, for lack of a better description, with Bonnie's consistent refusal to listen to her. Of course, her consumption of alcohol only made her seem that much more unreliable, but Grams likely knew that and was past the point of caring – or had acknowledged that it would take something other than just her word to get Bonnie to believe.

"Good morning to you too, Grams," Rue said, pulling out a box of Pop-Tarts from the cupboard next to the fridge.

"You weren't hoping to avoid anyone, were you," Sheila stated more than asked.

Rue withheld a sigh and an eye roll and tucked away two foil packets of breakfast pastry into the huge pockets of her cardigan. "We both know that if anyone has a problem with the other, it's Bonnie – not me, Grams."

"I'd say the one with the real issues is your father."

The mild bite in her grandma's tone had Rue cracking a reluctant smile, though in the back of her mind, she wondered whether the dig was her grandmother's subtle way to avoid putting any sort of blame on Bonnie. "Well, I'm making all of it a _non_ -issue, at least for this morning. Besides, I told Jeremy I'd pick him up; he's the one with an older sister he probably wants to avoid."

Sheila lifted her free arm in invitation, and Rue scooted beneath it for a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"You stay safe now! I've been feeling a big change coming 'round for a while now," Sheila gave her a serious stare. "Especially with that comet coming back soon."

"I'll make the attempt," Rue said, matching up her grandmother's warnings with the dream she'd had.

After all, the defeat of her enemies would obviously have to be preceded by the appearance of said enemies. She decided to contemplate later.

"I wouldn't say the same to Bonnie, though," she teased instead, tone deliberately mild. "She'd just brush you off – especially after an entire weekend of you trying to get through to her."

Sheila tsked. "That girl is so stubborn. I don't know where she gets it."

Rue snorted. "Yes you do."

Sheila smirked. "Yes I do."

Her face turned serious once more. "Do me a favor and keep an eye out for her, though? There's little worse for a witch than being ignorant when big things are comin'."

Rue felt the familiar flash of bitterness that came with evidence of Bonnie being the preferred Bennett sister. Their father did it, if only because he shunned magic after their mom had left because of it – and while Rue had willingly accepted magic into her life, Bonnie consistently rejected all signs. But Sheila did it too, despite the fact that Rue was the one living with her. It was likely because Grams was a traditionalist witch, and firstborns and their birthright were important to that belief system – or perhaps it was because Bonnie was in part named after her through her middle name, and names were also pretty important when it came to magic.

Whatever the explanation, it didn't really soften the blow of knowing the truth – that Sheila was more disappointed about Bonnie's willful ignorance than she was proud of her other granddaughter's progress and willingness to learn.

But Rue had long ago learned that there was no changing it, and there was no use in stewing in bitterness and making herself miserable about it all. And she was trying to bring that intellectual understanding into her feelings and actions. Besides, given that it looked like something was indeed coming, Bonnie's ignorance combined with her latent powers would make her an easy target. It was only common sense that she'd be asked to be on the lookout.

Even if it did grate that she was having to look after her _older_ sister – the same sister who she knew thought of her as apathetic and irresponsible, and disdained her for "egging on" their Grams' "delusions" about the supernatural and would likely never thank her for protecting her from said supernatural things. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that Bonnie also felt betrayed that Rue had left their father's house to live with Sheila – no matter that Rudy had been the one to "encourage" the move after Rue had refused to give up magic.

It was a worn thought process, travelling its beaten path through her mind in the time that it took her to summon up a reassuring smile for the grandmother who would never love her as much as Bonnie.

"Of course I'll keep an eye out, Grams. Bonnie's my sister."

Then she was out the door, before said sister could come down the stairs and be in the same room as her.

* * *

Rue had barely pulled into the Gilbert's driveway before Jeremy was out the door – she'd been right about him wanting to avoid his sister, then.

He looked tired. She eyed him for a split second as she pulled back out, but turned her attention back to the road. He wouldn't appreciate any well-meaning words, given his mood lately.

"You probably already had coffee, but I picked up some drinks on the way. That one's yours."

He muttered a quiet word of thanks.

"Who's the extra for?" he asked after he'd taken a sip.

"Dunno yet. Had the feeling to get another. It's the first day back – someone will need it," she shrugged.

He huffed slightly, a smile on his face. "You and your 'feelings'," he teased lightly.

Rue knew that he didn't exactly believe that she had oracular powers, but he was at least nicer about it than Bonnie would be. Plus, if he was feeling good enough to tease her, then that was an improvement in and of itself.

Speaking of good moods. "I've got an extra package of Pop-Tarts too – cardigan pocket."

"Hot fudge sundae?"

"Duh."

He smiled again and slipped his hand in the pocket that was currently hanging by her knee.

"Thanks," he said again.

"No problem," she replied.

They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way. It was the usual state of affairs when they were hanging out, given that they were both naturally loners. Honestly, the only reason they had become friends in the first place is because their older sisters' friendship often resulted in them – the little siblings – being lumped together during Bonnie-and-Elena playdates.

Ironically enough, that loner nature is what had brought them closer over the summer. Rue had taken advantage of the vacation time to visit with a friendly witch coven in New York, but had cut her trip short when one of her premonitions had shown how Jeremy would spiral after his parents' deaths. She'd figured he would need someone there for him, in a way that his remaining family wouldn't be, so Rue had come back to Mystic Falls to do that – to give him space without judgment, to be there for him without being overbearing or invasive. For all that Elena seemed to think he was completely off the rails, it could have been a lot worse.

And now she and Jeremy had become closer friends than Rue had ever expected to make in Mystic Falls. She was just glad that he seemed to share her goal of leaving their quaint little town as soon as possible – one less thing to hold her back once the time came.

She parked, gave Jeremy a brief side-hug and grabbed the extra drink from its holder. They went their separate ways – him presumably off to the stoner hangout at the back of the building, and Rue to make sure her schedule adjustment had been dealt with (she'd skipped a grade in Psychology and History); and maybe to see if she could catch sight of the vampire she had sensed the moment they'd arrived on school property.

She arrived at the office and thankfully found out that the paperwork had gone through smoothly. Bidding the secretary a good morning, she turned to leave, and nearly bumped into the other person who had just stepped into the office. As she glanced up at him, she caught a glimpse of the gaudy, blue-stoned ring on his hand that reeked of another witch's magic.

This was the vampire then.

She prepared herself for a moment, and then flicked her eyes upward. Black veins branched out from beneath his sunglasses, behind which were eyes with the whites dyed a bloody red. As he opened his mouth to speak, she caught a glimpse of his pale fangs. And there was something else about him that just seemed... strange. And strangely familiar. But she couldn't quite summon it to the forefront of her mind just then.

Truth could be a strange gift at times.

Honestly, it wasn't that bad-looking. Just inhuman. And depending on your definition of human, she wasn't exactly one either, what with the whole magical powers thing.

"Sorry about that," he said, his brow furrowing in what looked like a habitual expression.

"It's fine, nothing spilled," she said, briefly lifting the two drinks – hers and the extra – that she was still carrying.

A flash of intuition hit her.

"You're new here, right?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

His face turned rueful. "Small towns, huh? Actually, I'm a returnee. Stefan Salvatore. I'd offer you my hand, but uh…"

She smiled. "That's a familiar name around here. I'm Bethany Bennett. Everyone calls me Rue, though, short for Ruth – one of my middle names."

She caught a flash of recognition in the more human parts of his eyes – his hazel green irises. He'd likely heard of the Bennett Witches. Maybe even encountered them if he was a "returnee."

"I'll spare you the list of gossipy questions – well, from me at least. Someone nosier will probably ask them later."

Rue held out the spare drink.

"I got an extra drink when I went through the drive through this morning. Had a feeling someone might need a pick-me-up. You look thirsty enough," she said, not unkindly.

He gave her a searching look, and she wondered if he'd noticed her glance at his ring earlier – that could have sent off a few warning signals, particularly in conjunction with someone of her family name telling him he looked thirsty. Though, the fact that she wasn't treating him with disgust like a typical Bennett witch might have thrown him off.

"C'mon, free up a hand for me?" she smiled at him. "It's a double-shot Americano – you look like a strong coffee kinda guy."

The corner of his mouth twitched up. "I suppose I could do you a favor," he said, faux seriously.

She grinned and handed over the drink, glad to see he wasn't as complete a bore as he might first appear with his perpetual eyebrow contraction. His decision to go to a high school of all places hadn't boded well either, as far as fun levels went.

"Now _I_ have to visit my locker before class, and _you_ presumably have some business here," she led, stepping around him. "So, Stefan, I will likely see you later – small towns, and all."

He nodded in farewell, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him take a deep whiff of the coffee before sipping at it. Smart, she supposed, to check a drink from a witch – most of them would have probably spiked it with vervain or something. And again, Bennett. Her family didn't exactly have a reputation for tolerance of vampires.

She took one step out the door and another down the hall, only to come face-to-face with her sister and Elena.

"Hi Bonnie, Elena," she said, stepping quickly around them.

"I didn't see you this morning, Bethy," Bonnie said, her tone ambiguous as only a teenage girl could make it.

Rue refrained from rolling her eyes at the nickname that their father had used when he was still talking to her. She'd never liked it, and Bonnie knew that.

"I thought that would be a plus in your eyes," she responded. She walked off before she could be sucked into one of Bonnie's lectures.

"Little siblings, huh?" she heard Bonnie sigh.

"Yeah, at least yours isn't high half the time," Elena mumbled back.

This time, she didn't bother holding back the eye roll. They sounded so long-suffering. It was a standing trend of self-righteousness that she didn't see waning anytime soon. As the thought crossed her mind, a tremor of _yes, that is true_ shuddered up her spine.

She felt the urge to knock her skull against the nearest locker.

History class was something of an experience – unfortunately, it was one that included her sister, and Elena, and eyes being made at Elena from two different sources. One of the soppy stares was understandable, what with Matt still not over the breakup. The other gave her pause. She really hoped that Stefan the vampire hadn't really come to Mystic Falls just to send besotted looks at Elena Gilbert.

She knew from some tests that she'd done years ago that Elena literally had something supernaturally attractive about her, but really? Really?

Mostly, Rue attempted to ignore it. Stefan didn't _seem_ malignant, though she supposed that could change pretty quickly given how mercurial vampires were. Instead of working herself up, though, she doodled abstract swirls and shapes in the margins of her notebook.

Tanner held her back after class to make a sharp remark about how if she couldn't keep up with a higher level class he'd have her sent back down to be with her own age group.

Rue wondered why he had bothered to get a job teaching teenagers when he clearly hated them. Maybe so he'd have the chance to live vicariously through young, in-their-prime football players as he coached the school's team.

Whatever. Not her problem. Unless he made himself a problem.

The rest of the day, she spent writing in her poetry book, tending to her laurel tree and the small box of herbs she grew on her window sill – and looking over the various materials she'd collected over the years for mentions of a Salvatore vampire.

She found more than a mention in the magical copy of one of Jonathan Gilbert's journals. (Grayson Gilbert may have been hiding something that twigged her witchy senses enough to give her the chills – she still didn't know what it was, and didn't really care to search – but he'd been generous enough help out a young witch who was friends with his son and interested in learning to protect herself from vampires. He'd likely not known about the copies she'd magically made, though.)

Apparently Stefan had once killed the ancestor of the girl he was apparently attempting to get with. Not that it took, what with the magical resurrective ring and all. Still, could be an awkward conversation one day. Assuming they got far enough to broach the whole vampire topic in the first place.

That evening, she ended up at the Grill – as all the teenagers of Mystic Falls tended to do, given the lack of other hangouts. Jeremy wanted someone to vent at while he made puppy eyes at Vicki Donovan, and Rue was the only candidate. It was a wonderfully tedious way to spend an evening, but she wanted to be a good friend.

At least they had nice fries.

She pasted a sympathetic grimace on her face when Jeremy flopped onto the bar stool beside hers. She didn't really care for Vicki, but the girl made Jeremy happy – usually. That didn't seem to be the case tonight.

"D'you know what she called me? 'Elena's kid brother'," he said, reaching over to her basket of French fries and stealing one. "That's the second time she's done it today."

"Rough. But we both know by now that your sister's unnaturally popular. And, well, you're a loner. Most everyone probably knows you as that."

He snorted. "Yeah. But you think she'd know me as more."

"Considering she's _known_ you, biblically speaking?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Not just that!" Jeremy's voice raised for a moment. "It's more than that. That's the _point_. But she can't see it."

Rue heaved a sigh, glancing over at Vicki, who was currently leaning over Tyler's table more than was warranted for bringing a refill. Jeremy followed her gaze and a pained expression crossed his face.

"Look, Jeremy, you're a good guy, and it's obvious that you'd be better for her than Tyler Lockwood. You'd definitely treat her better, at least," she leaned in close, making sure to catch Jeremy's eyes with her own. "The thing is, if Vicki doesn't see that… it's because she doesn't want to. Maybe she thinks Tyler can give her something – respectability, maybe, because of his family. But someday she'll realize that something like that can only come from herself. And when she learns some respect for herself, she'll realize that Tyler doesn't treat her with any."

"Yeah, Miss Shrink?" Jeremy asked, tone somewhere between habitual sarcasm and genuine hope. "How long's that gonna take?"

"Probably whenever Lockwood screws up big time," she stated seriously. Then she smirked. "So, not too long now."

Jeremy cracked a smile, and Rue considered the talk a success.

Of course, that was when Elena walked into the Grill accompanied by Stefan the vampire, drawing attention as she was wont to do.

"Yeah, that's my cue to get outta here," Jeremy said. He took another few French fries for good measure.

"Yeah, yeah. You still going to the party tomorrow?"

"Probably. You?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Depends how the day goes."

"Uhuh," Jeremy rolled his eyes. "If it were up to you, you'd spend forever in your room with your books."

Rue gave him a placid smile. "And yet – exploring this sphere beyond the confines of my domicile is indeed an integral part of life on Earth. Besides, I find the arbitrary constructs of social interaction amusing to observe," she said as snootily as possible, tilting her head back with faux haughtiness.

He snorted and walked off with a wave.

"Particularly when there's drinking and impaired decision-making involved!" she called after him with a grin she couldn't suppress.

As she turned to face the rest of the room, the grin faded. Her sister was sitting at a table with Caroline and Elena – not an atypical sight. The vampire sitting with them, gazing intently into Elena's face, was new.

Though perhaps it wasn't much of a surprise. Elena was practically vampire bait. Particularly after her parents' death, which was around the time she'd started wearing understated melancholy like a designer coat. It made her look more vulnerable than her doe eyes ever had on their own.

A wash of curiosity swept through Rue. She was an intensely private person who also happened to be somewhat nosy. Usually, she tried to curtail her curiosity about others' private lives, given her intense dislike for hypocrites… but in this case, she reasoned that knowing the plans of the new vampire in town (even if he seemed to be in control of himself, as of yet) could very much be relevant to her own safety – and the safety of those under her protection.

So yeah. In this case, eavesdropping technically fell under doing that favor for her grandmother, right?

She muttered a short phrase under her breath, and suddenly was able to hear the conversation at the table, half a crowded, noisy room away.

"Any siblings?" Elena asked.

"None that I talk to. I – uh, I live with my uncle," Stefan replied.

A smile lingered behind his stare, which was still fixed on Elena's eyes. She didn't seem uncomfortable with it.

Elena always had lacked the usual self-preservation instincts. Especially when it came to pretty boys.

She was totally vampire bait.

Caroline seemed to sense the budding connection, because she quickly interrupted their shared gaze with a perky interjection. "So Stefan, if you're new then you don't know about the party tomorrow!"

"It's a back-to-school thing at the Falls," Bonnie explained.

Caroline's intentions were thwarted in the face of Stefan's single-minded attentions in another direction. "Are you going?" he asked, deliberately leaning closer toward Elena, making it obvious the question was for her alone.

"Of course she is," Bonnie replied for her with a meddlesome smile.

Elena paused for a moment, glancing from Bonnie to Stefan. Then she smiled, half amused, half coy, ducking her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and glancing back at Stefan from beneath her eyelashes.

Rue cancelled the spell with an eye roll. Typical Elena; of course she'd not only attract the supernatural, but be attracted to it. Rue had heard and seen enough to know that the amount of eye rolls she'd made or suppressed today would only increase in frequency.

Wasn't high school vampire romance a bit cliché at this point?

Even worse, it meant that she had to go to the party tomorrow to keep an eye on Jeremy and her sister. While Stefan seemed benign, parties weren't exactly good for a vampire's control, what with the crowds and pumping blood and intoxication. It'd be like walking into a pizza buffet. After not eating for a day or two. Even if that weren't the case, trouble tended to hover around anything supernatural – she'd have to be on guard as long as Stefan planned to stick around.

The same feeling of _Yes, that is true_ that she had felt earlier tingled across her spine, and she shoved a handful of fries in her mouth to keep herself from letting out an unsettlingly loud groan of dismay.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the next one. Rue's faceclaim is Logan Browning, if anyone's interested.

Edit: A thanks to **Astradeni13** who gave me a better Greek translation! As a writer, it's always good to hear from people with personal experience with a different language.

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Laurels – Chapter Two

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Okay, so maybe she wasn't as over her feelings of resentment toward Bonnie as she liked to think, Rue thought to herself, trying to push down a smile as Tanner jibed at her sister for a particularly lame answer to one of his questions.

Though, she did feel a little mean for the smile – that meant she was at least half over them, right?

"And what about the _younger_ Miss Bennett?" Tanner turned toward her, the condescension in his tone spelling out the expectation of her failure.

"There were 346 casualties, sir," she stated.

It was an easy question for her to answer, given she had just been brushing up on "Mystic Falls: 1864 edition" in her search for mention of Stefan Salvatore.

"That's correct. Very good."

Seeing the look of surprise on his face was almost insulting – especially since there was also a hint of something that said she'd just ruined his fun by not failing. She felt compelled to add a little lesser known fact to her answer. See what he thought of that.

"Not including the civilian casualties, that is."

His face settled into condescension once more. "You should have stopped while you were ahead, Miss Bennett. There were no civilian casualties in the Battle of Willow Creek."

He twiddled his pen in hand, as self-satisfied as any middle-aged man who got his kicks from putting down the teenagers he was supposed to be teaching.

"Perhaps your advanced placement in this class was a bit premature."

Rue was in the middle of deciding whether Tanner might suffer from popped tires or mysterious bald spots in the near future when someone unexpected spoke up on her behalf.

"Actually, there were 27, sir," Stefan corrected, his face blank.

Tanner's pen-twiddling froze. "And where does this knowledge come from, Mister…?"

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore," he repeated. "Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

Stefan didn't so much as blink. "Distant."

Rue bit her lip to stop a smirk. Her mouth was being very uncooperative with expressions today.

"Given your connection to the history of this town, one would think you'd be more familiar with the facts regarding one of its most important events," Tanner said, turning to walk behind his desk. "As I said before, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

"Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong," Stefan stated with surety. "It was a night of great loss."

Tanner glanced at Stefan, then to the rest of the class – most of whom were staring back at him expectantly. He swallowed and glanced at the floor.

"The Founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts," Stefan continued. "Mr. Tanner."

Chuckles broke out from the other students, and Rue counted it a successful class when Tanner could only hum in answer before changing the subject. For all that he seemed to disdain teenagers, he was awfully concerned about their opinion of him. Still, she was glad to see her initial impression that Stefan possessed hidden depths of sass had proven true.

She sent him a smile when his eyes flickered toward her, and he nodded in return – not quite smiling back, but something softened with humor around the edges of his inhuman eyes.

Despite school ending on a high note, the impending party somewhat dampened her mood. Big gatherings had never been her thing – particularly not gatherings filled with wasted high schoolers macking on each other. Considering the reason she was even going was to monitor for vampire shenanigans, she was betting this one would be a few degrees worse than usual.

Still, once dusk hit, she stuffed a shoulder bag with her notebook and a couple bottles of non-alcoholic drinks (certainly the only non-booze to be had at the party) and made her way to the Falls. She deliberately got there before people really began to arrive so she could establish her spot for the night.

As the party got into full swing, her bad feeling was soon proven correct, albeit not by the appearance of a blood-drained body – though she supposed the night was still young. Instead, it found her standing there in a dimly lit corner of the clearing, clenching her hand around a brown bottle of cream soda as she overheard Elena and Bonnie joking about the latter being "psychic."

It was one thing for Bonnie to reject all notion of the supernatural existing – almost understandable from a certain perspective. It seemed to be the natural reaction, given the ignorance of most of humanity. But to turn around and make fun at having those very powers, when through her rejection of their existence she had contributed to the estrangement of their sisterhood?

It seemed in very poor taste. Especially since Rue was sure that Bonnie's new running joke was a direct result of Sheila's sincere attempts to inform her of her witchy status.

When her sister then proceeded to freak out over a vision she'd had via skin contact with Elena, Rue wasn't in the mood to be sympathetic – though she sent a quick protection spell after her sister anyway. And then the other one she was there to keep an eye on finally appeared, only to walk off with Elena toward the bridge, which was relatively secluded for a crowded, rambunctious teenager party, as well as lit with pseudo-romantic strings of lights. She murmured her listening spell once more, and began to eavesdrop.

As bad nights were wont to do, the night got even worse as it went on. Even as Bonnie returned to the crowd to hang with Caroline and Matt (presumably so Elena could get some alone time with Stefan), Jeremy decided to go off into the woods to follow Vicki and Tyler, who had stumbled away together a little earlier – _that_ would definitely end well.

Rue was left to lean against a tree on the outskirts of the bonfires' light, sipping at her pop and listening to the boring get-to-know-each-other back and forth that Stefan and Elena were having. Well, not so much a back and forth as it was Stefan getting Elena to spill everything through his brooding stare and his (from what Rue could tell) genuine interest. She could see how a pre-date setting wouldn't be the most comfortable place to be telling your love interest about your supernatural thirst for blood.

She could help but smirk when the word passionate was brought up (in relation to Matt and Elena's relationship lacking it – ouch), and Stefan's true face apparently began to show itself, according to Elena's concerned response over his reddening eyes. She couldn't exactly tell for herself, given that his "game face" was what she saw all the time.

He may have been over a century old, but she couldn't help but think being frozen in a teenaged body might have some effect on him if he reacted that easily. A vampire's true face showing was basically the same as a surge of hormones.

Imagine that, a teenage boy getting worked up over talking about romantic passion with the girl he likes.

The hilarity of applying that statement to a centenarian vampire was unfortunately short-lived. She kept a close watch on Stefan as he retreated to a few steps behind the tree line, trying to calm his thirst; he came back out a few minutes later, only to be accosted by a tipsy Caroline.

Knowing what she did of Caroline's feelings of inferiority toward Elena, Rue couldn't imagine her taking it well that the hot new guy had summarily rejected her and then walked over to have another intimate-body-language conversation with said Elena.

Jeremy, who had wandered back toward the main party a few minutes earlier to drink depressively (his Vicki-pursuing had not gone well, then) chose that time to stumble drunkenly into the woods – directly in Elena's field of vision. Of course, that meant Elena had to follow, calling stridently after him.

Rue made to follow as well, somewhat concerned for her friend. An ominous trail of goosebumps crawled up her back, making that concern all the more urgent, and her pace quickened. She caught sight of them just in time to see Jeremy trip and nearly fall onto the still form of Vicki Donovan.

The still, _bloody_ form of Vicki Donovan.

"Vicki…? No," Jeremy mumbled in complete shock. "Oh my God, it's Vicki!"

"Oh my God," Elena stuttered, eyes wide.

Rue strode past her to kneel next to Vicki, pulling her phone out and handing it to Jeremy.

"Call 911, Jeremy," she told him, glancing at the wound, and then stripping off her jacket to press it against the profusely bleeding bite mark on Vicki's neck.

Her friend numbly pressed the buttons, but seemed relieved that he at least had something he could do. His sister was still standing there, hands in her hair and stunned.

"I only know basics, so I'm not sure if it'd be good to move her," Rue continued, keeping her tone as calm as it would go. "Elena, could you go get Matt – discretely?"

"Of course," Elena gasped. She turned and quickly picked her way back through the underbrush.

Rue's eyebrows furrowed as she stared down at the girl she was keeping from bleeding out – unfortunately she had to rely on mundane means, given that Jeremy had gotten a close up look at the wound before she could work a little healing magic. She could feel that it wasn't life-threatening if she kept up the pressure, so she wasn't _too_ worried about it.

She was more worried about how it had happened in the first place. Stefan hadn't escaped her monitoring at any point during the night, so…

"Rue?" Jeremy called, voice soft and near trembling.

She glanced up at him and spotted tears in his eyes as they stared down at Vicki. Oh dear.

"She'll be okay," she told him. "She's lost some blood, but I've stopped that for the most part and there's an ambulance on the way. And it should probably get here pretty quick considering this party wasn't exactly kept a secret; they likely had one on reserve just for potential drunken teen shenanigans. I mean, this isn't' quite that – though it involves teens who are drunk – but they'll get here, and fast."

Babbling. She was talking too much.

"She'll be fine," Rue repeated.

Jeremy nodded wordlessly, and a second later Matt and Elena came running toward them.

"Vicki? What the hell? What happened?" Matt near shouted, collapsing onto the ground on Vicki's other side.

"Looked like a bite to me," Rue stated. She didn't say what kind of bite. "I've stopped the bleeding and an ambulance is on the way, Matt," she told him gently.

"What, like an animal?" he asked her in bewilderment, some of the air coming out of his sails as he realized there was nothing further he could do.

"I think only an animal would do something like this," she told him honestly.

An animal of a vampire. One whom she had apparently missed on her magic radar, despite their apparent proximity to the party. Ironically, said miss was probably due to the fact that she had been so focused on observing Stefan. Something to keep in mind - she needed to work on her magical multitasking.

The ambulance came and went, Matt climbing in to ride with his prone sister. The cops showed up too, effectively shutting down the party. Animal control had a van there as well, however little good it would do anyone.

Rue sat on a fallen log, elbows on her knees, glad that she had worn a long-sleeved shirt beneath her jacket, given that said jacket was now balled up in a blood-soaked mess between her feet. Her hands had been rather blood-soaked too, before she had rubbed them together long enough for the red to flake off. Now, the only remainder was settled in around and beneath her fingernails, and the fact that she couldn't shake the smell of iron.

She wasn't sure that she cared for the sensation, whatever her dreams might have indicated. She supposed it might be different regarding her enemies' blood rather than the blood of a girl she was largely indifferent about – but given said enemies' entirely hypothetical existence, she hoped it would be a while before she found out.

Given that Stefan had arrived so recently, and had so soon been followed by another, less scrupulous vampire… Well, the escalation didn't exactly promise good things for her hope of putting off more blood.

Rue blinked. Actually, there was an idea… The other vampire had arrived _very_ shortly after Stefan. Or at least they had made their presence known to those "in the know" immediately after Stefan had established himself in Mystic Falls. Maybe there was a connection there...?

A weight settled on the log next to her. She recognized Jeremy out of the corner of her eye. He had another bottle of beer clenched in his fingers, and a thousand yard stare to go with it.

They sat there in silence for a moment, watching the red and blue lights of the cop cars flashing against the dark canopy of the trees.

"Need a ride home?" she asked.

"Jenna's coming," he replied stolidly.

She gave him a closer look. "…that doesn't look like just a Vicki face. It's got hints of Elena issues."

He snorted. Took another swig of alcohol. He thankfully didn't look mad at her inference, but contemplative.

After another minute, he spoke up. "She's always asking if I'm okay," he stated simply. "But I've read her diary – she hates it when people ask her. She keeps saying stuff about what mom and dad would've wanted, or expected, and then turns around and starts acting like she thinks _she's_ my parent. Like _that_ 's what they would've wanted," he scoffed.

Rue mulled over his words. "So what's been bugging you about her is that she's acting like a hypocrite?"

He snorted again. "I guess. I mean she just tried to give me a talk about moving on – like _she's_ done that – and then immediately switched to 'what mom and dad would've wanted.' Am I supposed to move on, or am I supposed to always be thinking about them and what their opinions might have been? It's not like I'll ever know for sure now!"

Rue stayed silent for another moment. She'd lost her parents too, but it had been in an entirely different way – one to some magical issue (according to Grams), and the other because her magic (she herself) had _been_ the issue. And her problems with Bonnie… well, she supposed they stemmed from disapproval like Jeremy-Elena problems tended to – but rather than subject her to constant, somewhat overbearing talks in an attempt to "correct" her behavior, Bonnie seemed to lean toward moody silence and icing her out.

"I don't have a perfect answer for you, Jeremy," she admitted. "I don't know if anyone ever does for things like this. It may sound cliché, but I'm pretty sure your parents just wanted you to be happy."

She turned to face him.

"Jere, I don't think you've been happy lately," she stated.

He reflexively gave her a look that screamed "no duh," but she shook her head slightly and gave him a serious look.

"I think you should look at your life, really, carefully look, and learn what's making you unhappy. Then remove that thing, or change it. It'll probably be hard. Being honest with yourself almost always is," she said earnestly. "But I don't think it's about 'moving on' – I think it's about perspective. Learn how to find your happiness again. And if your parents loved you, and I know they did, they'd be happy too."

Jeremy swallowed, and as his eyes began to water again, she turned to face forward to give him the illusion that she hadn't noticed. Instead, she shifted slightly closer, and bumped a companionable shoulder against his.

"…thanks, Rue," he said, voice raw. "For this, and… helping Vicki."

"I got you, man," she replied easily.

"Yeah," he agreed. And much more quickly than she would have expected after seeing Vicki so hurt, a tiny smile curled the corner of his mouth.

"We've probably exceeded your quota of shrink talks for this week, though," she stated. If it wasn't for the gross metallic smell on her hands (that she very much did not want Jeremy's attention directed toward, given whose blood it had been), she might have stroked her chin in mock thoughtfulness. She bumped his shoulder again instead.

"Probably," he said, and nudged her back.

Rue relished the companionable silence while it lasted. She had the unfortunate suspicion that things were only getting started.

* * *

The next morning, Rue drove to school alone. Jeremy had texted, making another quick jibe at Elena's "what mom and dad would want" tactic, mentioning that he doubted their dad would have liked that she'd invited some guy into the house and talked with him all night. The text also said that he had something else to do earlier that morning, so he'd make his way to school on his own. Knowing him, it was something to do with Vicki. Honestly, she was glad that he was even planning on showing up to school after what had happened.

History was once again filled with Stefan and Elena making eyes at each other – even mushier ones than before, if that was even possible.

Matt tracked her down after the final bell rang.

"Hey, Rue!" he called, coming to a halt as she turned to face him.

"Matt," she greeted. "How's Vicki doing?"

He gave her a very serious, earnest look. He was good at that, with his pale blue eyes, wholesomely chiseled face, and blond hair. It was like looking at Steve Rogers. "Better than she would have been without you. They're keeping her overnight in case of an infection, but she'll get out tomorrow. The EMTs said that she could have lost a lot more blood than she did."

"So a full recovery in the works, then?" she smiled at him. "That's good. I'm glad a little first aid basics could help."

He clapped a hand on her shoulder. "They did. So thanks."

"You're welcome," she smiled back.

It was a strange feeling to be appreciated, she mused, watching Matt walk off into the crowd, near-gravitating toward Elena.

Rue didn't have a whole lot of time to savor the feeling. She had things that needed doing.

The first stop was the Gilbert house. She gave a perfunctory knock on the door, but given that she had a standing invitation, she walked in without waiting for a response. She heard a great sigh from the kitchen, and peeked inside. Jenna stood there, looking somewhat putout despite the delicious-smelling tacos on the counter before her. She startled somewhat as she noticed Rue standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey Rue. You just missed Jeremy."

Rue raised an eyebrow at Jenna's tone. It was mostly frustration, but there was also sadness. It was kind of awkward to witness.

"That's okay, I just needed to return something that I borrowed from him. I'll, uh, put it in his room."

"Yeah, that's fine," Jenna said absently, her gaze returning to the back.

Rue took a step in the direction of the stairs, but Jenna's voice stopped her.

"Rue, you're good with Jeremy," she blurted, eyes almost pleading. "Honestly? Probably better than me and Elena combined. Got any tips?"

Rue hesitated. She wasn't exactly one to spout off sage advice to all and sundry, no matter what her recent talks with Jeremy might have indicated. But she supposed that was because most people didn't really talk to her, much less ask her for guidance. If Jenna was asking her, who she only knew as a normal sixteen year old girl, then the woman must have been getting desperate.

"Try to avoid anything that could be taken as overbearing," she finally said, stepping over to the counter. "He comes to me because I'm probably the only one who hasn't been constantly asking him how he's doing or telling him how to grieve."

She paused.

"Also, if you are going to talk to him anyway, _really_ avoid telling him to do something that you aren't doing yourself. Hypocrisy's something of a sore point."

Jenna grimaced. "Like leading into a non-drug spiel by telling him I did them myself?"

Rue raised her eyebrows. "That might do it, yeah."

"I was aiming more for an 'I know what you're going through' kind of thing," Jenna sighed, slumping against the countertop. She nudged the paper bag full of Mexican toward Rue. "Have a taco."

Rue shrugged, took a seat on one of the stools, and grabbed one. "That might've worked. You're pretty chill, and you have a legitimate position of authority in his life, so I think he'd respond to you better than Elena at least."

"Any ideas why he bailed mid-sentence, then?" Jenna sighed, dunking some tortilla chips into her tub of guacamole.

Rue shrugged again, swallowing a bite of taco. "It could have been anything. Maybe something you said struck a tired chord. Maybe the timing was off after what happened last night. Maybe he just had something urgent to do."

"Yeah… Vicki Donovan, huh?" Jenna squinted at her chip. "What's up with them?"

Rue gave her a blank face and took a bite of her taco in favor of answering.

"Not gonna answer that one, huh? I get it," Jenna said.

Rue glanced the other woman over, noting her still-dejected posture. "Why the sudden intervention, anyway, Jenna?"

Jenna looked up, giving a self-deprecating smile. "Had a parent-teacher conference with one Mr. Tanner this morning."

Rue wrinkled her nose. "I'd take your own counsel over his," she told her. "I don't know why he's even a teacher. He mostly just likes being able to condescend to someone."

"Yeah, I got that impression. He started off by calling me Miranda's 'kid' sister."

"Sounds like Tanner," Rue agreed. She stuffed the rest of her taco in her mouth and pushed off from the stool. "I've got some other errands to run today, so I'm just gonna go finish up here…"

"What?" Jenna looked up with a confused blink, like she'd forgotten why Rue had come over in the first place. "Oh yeah, of course! Don't let me keep you – you're really easy to talk to, you know?"

Rue hadn't really known that, no. As she'd thought before, not that many people talked with her.

"Ever thought of going into psych?"

Instead of answering the first question, which seemed rhetorical anyway, she gave a smile. "Psychology is one of the more interesting subjects, so I guess it's a possibility. See you later then, Jenna."

Jenna smiled back. "Of course. Thanks, well, thanks for the perspective."

Rue climbed the stairs and went straight for Jeremy's room. Technically, she hadn't been lying when she'd told Jenna she was returning a borrowed object, but that wasn't the main reason she'd come to the Gilbert house. She pulled out the CD she'd been loaned and placed it on Jeremy's desk. Then she made sure the curtain and door were both shut, and took out a few other things – a candle, a small chunk of amber, and her own personal grimoire.

She flipped open the magical book to the correct page and double checked the spell. With a glance from her, the candle lit itself. She cupped the amber in her hands, holding it over the candle's flame and focusing intently on the goal of her spell: to protect the room and its occupant, not only physically, but by transforming the negativity surrounding him into positive energy. She'd been thinking about doing something similar for a while, but finding out that Elena had invited a boy into the Gilbert house – a boy who could only be Stefan, the vampire…

Well, she'd decided to give Jeremy a little extra protection – especially given her ominous feeling of impending danger-escalation. And maybe it would help along his healing process a bit. The spell wouldn't alter his mind or anything, just encourage what good he was already open to.

"Άσε το κεχριμπαρένιο φως να φυλάει αυτό το μέρος," she whispered, and then repeated herself in her first language. "Let amber light guard this place."

Rue separated her hands and the amber fell onto the fire. Instead of embedding itself in the gooey wax, the fossilized resin hovered in the flame for a moment, lit up from the inside – like the sun shining through clear honey. Then it seemed to melt, transforming into glowing wisps of energy, which whisked around the room and sank into every inch of it.

The glow seemed to sink into her as well – though that could have been the usual sense of giddy satisfaction that swept through her every time she successfully performed magic.

Rue left the Gilbert household with a smile on her face. As her car rolled down the road, it slipped from her lips. Things had the potential to go badly at her next stop.

She was going to a vampire's house, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's the newest chapter. Please enjoy! I'd love to see your feedback, and any ideas you might have.

* * *

Laurels – Chapter Three

* * *

From what Rue knew of Zach Salvatore, he was something of a recluse. Despite being a member of the exclusive Founding Families club, and being on the Council, he wasn't in a position of power like the mayor or the sheriff.

Of course, now that she knew about Stefan, she was pretty sure that it was a very deliberate move on his part, because he was related to a vampire. A vampire he was harboring at least somewhat willingly, given that she knew for a fact that Zach had access to vervain – meaning that if he was entirely against it, the vampire either wouldn't be there anymore or Zach would have turned up dead by now.

But if the Salvatore Family had a long-standing, dirty secret history that included a vampire relative, she wondered if Zach might know a little something about any enemies Stefan might have made. The kind that would follow him to a tiny, boring town in order to make it not so boring via murder.

So, here she was in her car, on her way to the Salvatore Boarding House. She'd actually been there before, after she'd found out through one of her dreams that Zach knew how to cultivate vervain. She'd come for tips; she couldn't be compelled, but vervain wasn't _just_ for that. He'd been stilted and somewhat reluctant to talk about it (with a vampire for a relative, she could see why he'd be keen to keep his patch of vampire-away on the down low), but also much too aware of the horrors that vampires were capable of to deny her some measure of defense. She hoped it would be the same case with her newest questions.

Rue supposed that she could have just gone to Stefan with her questions, but honestly – despite the fact that he seemed nice enough for someone who was an unnatural predator of sentient beings – you could never exactly tell how someone would react to their secrets being brought into the light. She assumed that would go doubly for vampires, what with their heightened emotions.

She looked up at the house as she stepped out of her car. She'd always been a sucker for all things retro or classic. Admittedly, part of the reason that she had gone to Zach (given that vervain wasn't necessary for _her_ to keep her mind and free will intact from vampires) was so she could get a glimpse at the inside of the house. Knowing that a vampire lived there, at least part time, only made her more curious. She could only imagine the history within every room. Probably more "Salvatore Family dirty secret" kinds of history.

She stepped up to the door and tugged on the bell pull that the house boasted instead of a modern doorbell.

A moment later, the door wooshed open and she was met with pale blue irises, set within the typical bloodshot whites of a vampire's eyes. She glanced down and saw that he had a daylight ring too.

"Well hello there," he said with a smile.

It looked almost fake – or at least facetious. He was practiced, whatever the case, if only because he managed to look charming despite the fact that she could see his veins and fanginess.

Regardless, it seemed that she'd found another vampire. Now, she only need figure out whether he was actually the one she was looking for.

"Hi," she returned calmly.

"You look around high school age, right?" he asked. Then his eyes widened with artful dismay at his faux pas, his grin taking on a sheepish edge. "And I don't mean to sound creepy by asking that – I just didn't think that Stefan would make a friend so quickly. You _are_ here for Stefan, right?"

"No, actually," she said. "I mean, I only really know him at an acquaintance sort of level since we've got a class together."

It was truthful, and – if this was the vampire who presumably had a grudge against Stefan – denying such a friendly connection could only be a smart move.

"I'm here to see Zach," she said.

"Really?" he said, and he seemed genuinely surprised for a brief moment. "Well, color me surprised. Even if Stefan's brooding brand of… charm doesn't tend to make him friends, it does have a strangely attractive effect on women. Never thought I'd see him passed up for dear old Uncle Zach."

"U _huh_ ," Rue raised an eyebrow at him. "You his brother? Stefan's, I mean."

"How ever did you guess?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in return.

"Let's just say I'm not really a stranger to strained sibling relationships," she answered honestly.

It wasn't really a big deal for him to know. He'd figure it out if he ever saw her and Bonnie in the same room anyway. Regardless, if the grudge between brothers was as serious as she was thinking – and she was pretty sure that it was, given that they were vampires, and vampires made everything about 10 times more dramatic – then it was increasingly likely that her theory of the new, problem-causing vampire being somehow related to Stefan was correct.

Albeit, she hadn't expected "somehow related" to be so literal.

"Plus you share a couple features," she added.

Like vampirism.

The vampire's eyes flashed. She didn't care to read the emotion in them, as long as it wasn't hostility aimed at her. It was soon gone anyway.

"Damon Salvatore," he introduced himself with a short, flamboyant bow. "The older brother – and the suave one between the two of us."

"Call me Rue," she said with a half-hearted smile. She refrained from commenting further on the sibling topic.

"Got a last name to go with that first… is it even your actual name, with the 'call me this' routine?" he asked playfully.

"It's as good as my actual name," she responded. "Everyone uses it."

"And my last name is Bennett," she said after a moment's thought.

His eyes flashed again, this time as he seemingly sized her up. Probably wondering to what degree she was involved with witchy things.

He sure made strange eye expressions a lot, though.

A shiver of _truth_ went down her spine. Really? Her powers deemed it necessary to respond to her thoughts about a vampire's inconsequential idiosyncrasy?

"Anyway, Zach said I could borrow some records," she said, making up an excuse on the spot.

Though it wasn't what she was there for specifically, Zach _had_ told her that before. So, not a lie. And it wasn't exactly advisable for her to say she was there to question Zach about whether or not Stefan had enemies _to_ said enemy.

"Bit old-school for a teenager aren't they?" Damon asked. "What genre?"

"Swing, generally. I tend to like old-school better than new-school," she explained. "And actual school," she added.

He grinned at her. "Older things do have their charm," he acknowledged. "Fine wine, and all that."

She half expected him to wiggle his eyebrows at her, and wondered if he'd ever pulled something while patting himself on the back.

"Well, Zach isn't actually here right now," he said. "But if you wanna come in, I could probably find those records for you."

"No thanks," she shrugged. "I'll just do something else today and come back some other time. It's not like it's a long drive. Besides, I just came on a whim – next time I'll call ahead or something."

Plus, she drew the line at being alone with a vampire – a presumably violent vampire at that – in an enclosed space. Especially when said space was his own territory.

"Nice meeting you, though," she said, and turned to leave.

"Nice to meet you too," he said, sounding contemplative and almost bemused.

Rue hoped that didn't mean he was considering whether or not to involve her with whatever vampire nonsense he was cooking up. She'd just as soon leave herself out of it.

She pulled out of Salvatore property and made for home. As she drove down the road, she saw Elena's SUV going in the direction she came.

She was pretty sure that wasn't going to end well. Supernatural-bait Elena meeting a homicidal vampire? Especially since said vampire seemed to have something against his brother, who was involved with said supernatural-bait.

But at the same time, she was pretty sure that Damon seemed like the type to play with his food. It wasn't likely that he would just up and kill Elena any time soon if he could draw it – and his brother's suffering – out.

And that meant she could comfortably stay out of it until such a time as it involved her personally.

Or Bonnie, she amended, remembering her promise to Grams.

Why did she have the feeling that would come around sooner than she would like?

A shiver of _truth_ went down her spine.

Well, there went the rest of her day. And the next day wasn't looking so hot either, considering that yet another one of the town's seemingly endless events would be taking place.

A festival about the bad omen comet, no less.

* * *

Though it was a Thursday, school was cancelled for the Night of the Comet Celebration. Even if the comet itself wouldn't be making an appearance until night fell and the sky was dark, the sunlit day was filled with typical carnival activities like face-painting and games.

Her sister had been finagled by Caroline (who'd had a big part in organizing the day) into handing out flyers for the candle lighting event later that night. Given that both of the vampires in town had daylight rings, Rue's sister-watching time was considerably expanded beyond typical work hours. Still, that didn't mean she had to give up on fun. She was firmly against letting this favor to her grandma derail her entire life.

And she was equally against letting herself get sucked into vampire drama. (No pun intended).

So Rue got her face painted with a gold swirly design around the left side of her face and sat down beneath one of the park trees to enjoy some cotton candy, letting her gold mirrored sunglasses hide the fact that her eyes kept returning to her sister. And the fact that she was making faces at her sister's conversation with Elena (eavesdropping spells were becoming a habit), which was all about her relationship (or lack thereof) with Stefan.

Honestly, she wasn't exactly rooting for that particular relationship to succeed. Given that her sister had the tendency to be stupidly loyal, she could imagine Elena's thing for vampires having an incongruously large effect on her. And Stefan, no matter how relatively non-murdery he seemed, was still a vampire – that meant blood, drama, and breakdowns.

Of course, that naturally meant that the conversation consisted of Bonnie encouraging Elena to go for it.

If that wasn't bad enough, her vampire-radar pinged a moment later. Rue subtly shifted her gaze, only to find Caroline walking confidently toward a looming-on-the-sidewalk Damon Salvatore.

Thankfully, he disappeared before the cheerleader could collide with him. But given Caroline's personal brand of insecurity-fueled persistence, Rue couldn't see that being the end of it.

Yet another thing that likely wouldn't turn out well.

If that wasn't bad enough, she saw Jeremy hanging around the Grill again – or more accurately, around the newly released-from-the-hospital Vicki Donovan. If it rained, it poured, she supposed.

Which was why that night she ended up standing there in the relative dark of the park with an unlit candle stuck in a plastic cup with a handle, just like what seemed like three quarters of the town – yet another gathering she had to attend for the sake of her sister's safety, instead of curling up in her PJs, on her bed, at home. She was glad that she'd enjoyed herself that afternoon, because she had the feeling the night wouldn't be getting any better.

 _truth_.

Ugh.

At least the comet was pretty? For a harbinger of evil.

"Why are you standing here all alone with an unlit candle?" a voice asked from behind, sounding almost offended.

She turned her head slightly to see Caroline standing there. She looked like she would have had her hands on her hips if it wasn't for the lit candle held in her hands.

"Heya, Pall Mall," said Rue, attempting a smile.

She kind of liked Caroline, for all that they didn't interact overly much. Given Rue's close relationship with truth, she enjoyed Caroline's blunt honesty.

"Still not a smoker," Caroline tossed her head slightly in annoyance, but nonetheless extended her candle to light Rue's.

"But Virginia Slim fits Elena so perfectly; I had to find a cigarette for you too," Rue explained innocently. "Pall Malls are classy. Plus, well, _malls_."

"Shopping isn't _that_ much a part of my life," Caroline sniffed, though she did have a hint of a smile at being called classy. "This town has a serious lack of options."

"That's the only thing stopping you, huh," said Rue.

"For now," Caroline grinned.

"Well, don't let me keep you from enjoying all your hard work," Rue said. "The former needs to happen after the latter, no?"

Caroline smiled at her in agreement and glanced around the park. Rue hoped she wasn't looking for a certain vampire. She turned to head toward the Grill, both because she wanted some fries and because that was where Bonnie's group would inevitably congregate.

"Wait, if you have names for me and Elena, what about Bonnie?" Caroline asked suddenly, eyes wide with curiosity.

Rue smirked at her over her shoulder.

"Salem."

She heard Caroline, who was privy to some of the witchy-belief-based issues between her and Bonnie, snort with surprised laughter.

Rue smiled slightly as she blew out her candle.

Sitting down in a booth with a bottle of root beer and a basket of fries improved her night a little bit. Naturally, she had yet to finish them when Jeremy came in and broke up her sister's – or rather, Elena's little school-circle talk-fest, asking insistently about the whereabouts of Vicki Donovan.

Rue's spine straightened, and she ignored the little spat going on between Tyler and Jeremy (and Elena) in favor of stepping outside and stretching her senses – supernatural and otherwise – for some clue. Vicki had already been attacked by Damon once, and the kind of guys who played with their food tended to come back for second rounds.

In the end, she only had to pop her head around the corner and look up, though she was careful to remain hidden.

Damon was on the edge of a roof, holding Vicki by the arm to keep her in place, with a hand across her mouth to muffle her voice. Rue could still hear her whimpering. At the same time however, he didn't seem to have any intention of actually letting her drop.

She figured out his motivation when Stefan made an appearance on the roof too, and Damon proceeded to taunt him with the girl's condition. Vicki, who had apparently been compelled to believe that she had been the victim of an animal attack, was broken from the hypnotism – only for Damon to compel her anew with the "knowledge" that she had been attacked by the vampire Stefan Salvatore.

'Definitely in town to torment his brother, then,' Rue thought. 'At the very least.'

For once, though, she learned something interesting from her eavesdropping. Stefan was apparently not drinking human blood. From Damon's earlier mention of bunnies, her classmates was likely subsisting on animals. And it made him weaker – unable to compel a human into forgetting properly.

Understandable, given that vampires were meant to drink human. But at the same, something new to learn.

And also something that made her even more leery of having him around, given that his alternative diet seemed to have wreaked havoc on his control. When Damon ripped the bandage off Vicki's neck, he nearly crumpled at the knees, grunting and breathing heavily.

Rue watched for a while longer, but in the end, Vicki walked away thinking she'd blacked out because of some drugs and ripped her stitches – none the wiser in regards to the existence of vampires.

Damon disappeared, but only after declaring his intention to stick around for a while. Which… wasn't all that great.

When Rue slipped back into the Grill, she found her sister giving Elena's cell number and email out to Stefan. Which was worse, given the new evidence pointing toward his lack of control over his bloodlust.

In the process, Bonnie apparently had some sort of premonition or vision involving Stefan's vampirism when their hands brushed as she was handing over the contact information – and then proceeded to brush it off, as per usual.

And then she saw Vicki and Tyler making out in the corner, with Jeremy aiming his sad puppy eyes their way.

And to top it all off, she found that the remainder of her fries had been cleared away while she was gone.

It was the worst pileup-ending of a day that she'd had in years.

Rue sighed, figured that she'd had enough happen for one night, and decided to go home and take a long shower – and then sleep without any visions, hopefully.

* * *

She did end up getting a good night's rest, thankfully. School the next day was as banal and unfortunately Tanner-ful as ever – though Stefan did get into an amusing little showdown with him via a little historical dates pop quiz (the vampire, having lived through all the material, had shown Tanner up spectacularly). But even before classes she hadn't felt too great about where the day might go, given that she'd overheard another Bonnie/Elena conversation making light of "witchy mojo," as Elena called it. Not to mention Jeremy was being supremely pouty about Vicki after what happened the night before.

The only thing she really had to look forward to was her weekly Friday night lessons with Grams.

Though… they had long ceased to hold any sense of genuine excitement for her, considering Sheila still centered them on review and the bare basics. Rue was still trying to ignore, or at least suppress, the realization that her grandmother didn't intend to teach her anything more than that – at least until Bonnie was caught up with her in belief and knowledge.

It was a sad thing to know that all the progress she'd made over the past three years had been from self-study and reaching out to other witch covens.

Still, Friday nights were a time where she was able to sit down and ask her Grams whatever theoretical questions she'd cooked up over the week (as long as they weren't too "out there" in terms of dark magic, or against the Spirits and typical traditionalism). _And_ Rue got to look at the Bennett Family grimoire. And perhaps most importantly, Grams always made some great tea and cookies.

So imagine Rue's dismay – not to mention her shock – when Bonnie, her practically-estranged sister Bonnie, came out of nowhere after she was done with cheerleading practice to find Rue in the library and asked her to come to an awkward dinner at the Gilbert's with Elena and her new boyfriend.

"…come again?" Rue asked stiffly.

Bonnie looked equally uncomfortable, but stubbornly explained herself again.

"Elena asked me to come to dinner at her place so I could 'get to know' Stefan," she said. "I… had a bad feeling around him, so I wanted to get an unbiased second opinion. Plus, having an extra person might smooth things out."

'In other words,' Rue thought, rather uncharitably, 'you don't really believe in magic, but you want to take advantage of my supposed abilities to make sure that you aren't going crazy because of your _witch_ instincts going whack around Stefan the vampire.'

There went her Friday night. Grams would never have lessons if she knew that Bonnie would be in close quarters with a vampire and Rue could have been watching over her instead.

She felt the usual pang in her heart at the reminder of how preference worked in their family, and beat it down with the reasoning that Bonnie's issue was a matter of life and death, while missing a lesson was… not.

Besides, it seemed that Bonnie was slowly coming to realize the truth of things. Maybe things would change for the better?

"I guess I'll come," she said quietly. "Do I need to… wear anything in particular? Bring food?"

"No! No," Bonnie reassured her, eyes wide as though she couldn't believe Rue had agreed. "Just… wear something nice and comfortable. Elena's doing the food."

"Right," Rue said. "…When is it?"

"Oh, um, it's at 8 so… I'll pick you up at 7:30 from Grams'?"

Rue nodded her assent, shoved her notebook off the library table and into her book bag, and walked briskly away from the most awkward conversation she'd had in years.

* * *

DELETED SCENE:

"You're single for the first time in your entire high school career," said Bonnie, trying to convince Elena to take her thing with Stefan slowly. "It's the perfect time to play the field."

"Ohh," Elena laughed sarcastically. "Because I'm so that girl."

A new shiver of _truth_ tingled its way down Rue's spine, and she raised her eyebrow as her sister and her friend walked past.

She supposed she could see it a little, what with Matt pining and Stefan smoldering – both at Elena. She hoped it would get any worse than that, though.

This time, it was a shiver of foreboding.

Darn.

Maybe Elena's weird romance drama wouldn't intersect too much with vampire drama? Beyond the Stefan stuff, at least.

More foreboding.

Rue turned about face and walked over to a tree – perfect for head-slamming. She might need the haziness of a concussion to make it through the coming events.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'd say Rue's theme song is Virginia Swing by Phibes

* * *

Laurels – Chapter Four

* * *

That night, Rue dressed herself in her favorite casual dress – purple, polka-dotted, pocketed, and peter pan collared, with a long line of little golden buttons down the front – and her favorite jewelry, which included a thick ring (enchanted, and good for punching besides that) made from the repurposed handle of a fancy spoon. She also wore her favorite pair of sensible, running-ready, ankle-high boots.

The outfit was just the right mix of classic, quirky, and ready-to-smack-a-bitch; the end result satisfied her immensely. She needed the boost in mood if she was going to survive the night without losing her temper. While her temper was not particularly flammable, her sister had a particular gift for pissing her off, deliberately or not – especially when matters of magic and it's "nonexistence" came up. And it certainly would that night, given that the whole reason she'd been dragged into the disaster-in-the-making of a dinner was that Bonnie had suddenly gotten some supernatural inklings she couldn't just shove under the rug in favor of looking down her nose at her believing, "crazy" family members.

And she wanted a second opinion from _her_ , Rue – the little sister who was basically the primary victim of said looking-down-upon, because she wasn't in a position of familial authority over Bonnie like Grams was.

Rue turned from the mirror and the agitated furrow between her reflection's brows, walking over to look out the window instead. A deep breath later, and her face smoothed over.

Okay, so maybe the well of negativity she had for Bonnie had not so much dried up lately as it had iced over, just waiting for another pile of steaming crap to drop down and melt the surface to reveal just how deep the well had been dug.

But honestly, she was tired of being angry – or getting the odd surge of sorrow – every time Bonnie… was. Every time she saw Bonnie in person, heard of Bonnie in conversation – Bonnie seemed to be everywhere. Not that her pervasive presence in Rue's life was odd, considering they _were_ sisters (if estranged) living in the same town (if not the same house), going to the same school (if in different grades). It was just that the constancy of these little interjections meant that Rue's bitterness didn't have the chance to wither away like a neglected plant; instead, it kept surging up back to life every time she thought she'd dealt with it, gotten over it.

But, she supposed, you can't exactly get over something if it isn't behind you.

'Or beneath you,' she thought to herself with a slight smile.

She got nothing from being upset – besides an increased chance of ulcers, that is. She'd told herself that so many times. _She_ knew she was in the right, and she _knew_ that some people never learned unless they were forced to; Bonnie's stubborn and somewhat self-righteous temperament usually counted her among their number. Honestly, Rue wondered whether half the reason that her sister hadn't accepted her status as a witch – despite the undeniably supernatural things she'd been experiencing – was because she had spent so long denying it, and didn't want to admit she was in the wrong.

What was the saying? "Serenity to accept the things I cannot change"?

Well, she was _capable_ of changing things, if only by smacking Bonnie in the face with some _truth_. But that wasn't exactly a viable solution, because Sheila would definitely notice it and heavily disapprove of her magicking her sister (especially since that particular type of magic was definitely not anything Sheila had taught her) – but also because she didn't _want_ to have to force it.

Bonnie didn't deserve that at this point.

She wanted Bonnie to come to the realization on her own, with all the horror and confusion that came with it – and maybe some well-deserved guilt too, if she was feeling particularly self-reflective when it happened (and, dammit, she'd been trying to tone down these uncharitable thoughts). Bonnie would not get the opportunity, after the shock of it all died down, to latch onto Sheila's condemnation of Rue's application of magic, and push aside her own culpability in favor of a new target for her seemingly innate disapproval of her.

Rue wanted the chance to be completely in the right. To say "I told you so" from a position of utter rightness. She wanted it pretty badly, to be honest.

But she couldn't allow the thought – the _grudge_ – to fester like it had been. She'd thought she'd been making progress in that direction. But apparently all she'd been doing was avoiding the issue. One little invitation from Bonnie, a tiny bit of deliberate interaction instead of their usual brand of aversion – and yes, an increasing amount of strange looks directed at her from Bonnie as she began to doubt her own convictions – and the issues just flared like a particularly virulent weed.

So yes. Serenity. She needed some serenity.

It was too late in the day for the sun to be out, but the moon was close enough. She stared up at the white disc, taking in its reflected light with rapt attention. She felt the light fill her up, burning away the tangled bramble of conflict in her heart.

By the time 7:30 rolled around and she heard Bonnie's car coming up the drive, her spine felt loose, and her face felt smooth – not happy, but at least calm. Rational.

She might not genuinely enjoy herself at this little shindig, but she was at least now in the proper mindset to possibly be amused by the awkwardness instead of enveloped in it. She still definitely felt like she would need to make room in her schedule for some heavy-duty relaxation time after she'd made it through the dinner.

Rue pulled on a jacket and her purse (which had a little supply of vervain inside, just in case), nearly power-walking past the room Grams was in – a "have fun" would have been painful, and a "look after Bonnie" would have only been worse. She was tempted to get in the back, but decided that it was too passive-aggressive and slid into the passenger seat.

There was a moment of silence that weighed heavier than it probably should have. Bonnie attempted a smile, but soon dropped it in favor of beginning the drive to the Gilbert's house.

"Do you know what we're having for dinner?" Rue asked.

Bonnie shrugged uncomfortably, using the good driver guideline of keeping her eyes on the road at all times as an excuse to not look at her sister. "Probably just some takeout."

Rue hummed.

"And Elena is fine with me coming."

Bonnie's eyes darted to the side for a second. "Honestly? She didn't seem to care as long as it got me in the same room as Stefan."

"Right," Rue said slowly. "Your… _bad feeling_?"

Bonnie hesitated.

"I just didn't get a good vibe off him, that's all."

Rue snorted, as was her usual habit when Bonnie carelessly used a colloquial expression that hinted at the supernatural. That was usually the point that Bonnie would get snippy with her, but this time, she just gripped the steering wheel that much tighter.

Of course, that could have been because she was just saving it for when they weren't trapped together in a vehicle. But she seemed genuinely unsettled.

"Yeah, fine," Rue sighed. "Just didn't think a second opinion coming from me would be worth much to you."

Bonnie chewed on her lip.

"You're my _sister_ ," she said, as if that explained away years of dubious looks and disbelief.

"Right."

The rest of the drive was spent in silence.

When they arrived, Rue exchanged an amicable enough greeting with Elena, and was excused from helping with setting things up. As she wandered upstairs, she heard the beginnings of Bonnie once more complaining to Elena over the weird things she'd been experiencing lately. Rue refrained from casting her eavesdropping spell that was becoming habit – wanting to stay as un-worked up as possible. She slipped into Jeremy's room to check on the protection spell she'd cast and idly wondered where he was if not at home, blocking out the world with his noise-cancelling headphones and music.

Probably mooning after Vicki Donovan again.

She snooped around for a bit, wondering what would provide the best protection when treated with vervain – though she supposed her best bet would be something he was already wearing, and wore regularly. Maybe she should get some extra for Elena and Jenna too.

Rue heard the doorbell, and took that as her cue to wander back down stairs. From the last step, she watched with careful eyes as Stefan walked over the threshold without a direct invitation from his girlfriend. So she'd been right in assuming he'd been invited in.

She felt that much better over the protection spell on Jeremy's room – definitely needed to sew some vervain into her friend's underwear or something though. Although Stefan seemed civilized enough, there was no telling if he was hiding a darker nature, or even if he might just snap one day. He seemed honest enough in that he was trying to be a good person, but there was something buried beneath it all that struck her as… unstable. Though that could just be something that was true for all vampires in general – she hadn't exactly met many up close.

Elena, who had lit up at the sight of her boyfriend, turned to face her with a smile.

"Rue, you've probably heard of him around school, what with the small-town rumor mill working at full speed," she joked. "But let me introduce you: this is Stefan."

Rue managed to smile back at her. Elena could be a little self-centered, but Rue didn't really have a personal problem with her; if anything else, they didn't interact enough for something truly negative to grow.

"We've actually met – in the office, I think."

Stefan held out a hand. She wondered if he was testing whether or not she'd be willing to touch him.

"Rue, right?" he said, his black-veined, fangy face habitually serious, yet holding a faint reflection of Elena's smile.

"That's the preferred nickname," she said with a slight smirk, and reached out to shake his hand.

She'd never actually shaken a vampire's hand before. His skin was slightly cooler than a normal human being's, but that could be easily explained as poor circulation. She wondered if that was because he was well-fed at the moment – she could imagine that he'd been sure to fill up on Bambi and Thumper before coming over.

A shiver of _truth_ skittered down her spine.

She felt, more than saw, her sister watching them from the doorway to the kitchen/dining room. When she exhibited no sign of flinching away from some strange vision upon skin contact with Stefan, Bonnie practically oozed with thwarted expectation.

Elena seemed happy enough that Rue didn't share Bonnie's seemingly strange aversion to Stefan, and ushered them toward the dinner table with a smile.

Soon enough, they were all doling out takeaway onto their plates, its origins undisguisable despite the fancy dishware it'd been dumped into. Rue noticed a glass of water near her plate, instead of the wine the other three had – she wondered whether it was because Bonnie felt the need to hypocritically enforce the underage drinking law for her, or if it was because she actually knew that Rue preferred not to drink.

Honestly, it could go either way.

For the first few minutes, the only sound was the clinking of silverware. Elena's eyes kept flicking back and forth between her best friend and boyfriend as Bonnie determinedly stared down at her plate rather than look at Stefan, who was sitting across from her.

Rue had the unfortunate urge to blurt 'Hey Stefan, I met your homicidal brother the other day when I went to snoop at the Boarding House' – just to see how he'd react. Not well, probably. She stuffed another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

Elena met her eyes across the table, and she glanced to the other two. The silence would have been uncomfortable for her too, if she'd been as invested as Elena. She sighed through her nose.

"So Stefan, where'd you live before now? Please say somewhere bigger."

She actually was curious about the places he'd been. Over a hundred years with the abilities of a vampire made for a lot of potential travel.

Stefan turned slightly in his chair to face her. Beside him, Elena shot her a subtle look of thanks.

"Well, as far as big goes, I have done a stint in New York," he offered up with a slight smile.

"City?" Elena asked with interest.

"City," he nodded. "Manhattan, mostly."

"Where there? SoHo?" Rue asked, then smirked slightly. "Little Italy?"

He huffed out a small laugh, and Elena smiled at the sound.

"A little bit of everywhere, to be honest."

Rue wasn't surprised, given the nomadic nature of most vampires.

"I was just there this summer," she commented. "Ever been to this little coffee shop called Sweetleaf? They've got a record room in the back. Turntable and all."

"Can't say that I have," he smiled slightly. "Maybe I'll have to go back and try it some time."

"I've always wanted to New York one day," Elena commented. "We used to talk about sharing an apartment there back when we were going through that Broadway phase, remember Bonnie?"

Bonnie gave a tight smile and a quick 'yeah,' but otherwise completely ignored the invitation to engage. Rue rolled her eyes and took a sip of water.

After an awkward silence, Elena made a valiant attempt to revive conversation.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" she asked Stefan.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," he replied lightly.

Elena smiled a bit wider than the little joke warranted, pleased that he was helping her carry things along. She turned to face Bonnie."

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him and –"

"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie said, a little dismissively.

Elena's face dropped, and she hid it behind her wine glass. After gulping some down, she tried again.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

Rue shared a rare glance with her sister, both of them thinking Elena was a bit desperate if she was bringing up their not-exactly-picture-perfect family. Rue wondered if it was because she wanted Stefan to reciprocate.

"Uh, divorced. No mom, just my dad and Grams. And Bethy, obviously."

Rue kept her face blank.

"Who prefers to be called _Rue_ ," she muttered, taking a sip of water.

She saw Stefan smile slightly out of the corner of her eye.

"No, I meant about the witches," Elena clarified.

Stefan shot a sharpish glance at Elena. Given that she obviously didn't know about his vampirism, Rue could see how it might be strange for the girl to be bringing up witches so blithely.

"Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches," Elena continued, glancing meaningfully at Bonnie. "It's really cool."

"'Cool' isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie shook her head slightly.

Rue focused intently on her plate, trying not to get into yet another argument with her sister.

"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan interjected, looking between Bonnie and Rue. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids who migrated here in the 1800s."

"Yeah, not so Celtic here," Rue said.

"Our family came by way of Salem," Bonnie corrected him.

'Oh, so it's _ours_ now, is it' Rue thought almost automatically, and then attempted to shove the kneejerk unkindness down with another forkful of pasta.

"Really?" Stefan said, his interest palpable. "Salem witches."

Well, if he hadn't known they were _those_ Bennetts before, he probably did now.

"I'd say that's pretty cool," he continued.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie asked, somewhat nonplussed.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."

Rue repressed a snort – not only for propriety's sake, but so that she wouldn't spray her drink all over the Gilbert's dining table via her nostrils. What he'd said had been slightly ridiculous when taken as a reference to the Bennett witches; as far as she could tell from all her research – tracking down old family grimoires, and even those of other witches for an outside perspective – the witches of her line were largely either suckered into working for vampires or wildly prejudiced against them (and just prejudiced in general).

Not exactly individual or non-conformist. The only thing that really set them apart was power.

Still, Bonnie seemed to take a shine to his words. A smile spread across her lips, and the standoffishly neutral attitude she'd been aiming at the vampire since he'd arrived dissipated.

"Yeah, they are."

Elena seemed pleased that they were starting to get along, but before the evening could move any further in a more pleasant direction, the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be," she said, a faint pucker between her brows as she stood to get the door.

A moment later, Rue heard the unmistakable voice of Caroline from the vicinity of the front door.

"Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert."

The 'we' felt a tad ominous. Either Caroline was suddenly feeling a bit royal (or perhaps possessed), or she had out of the blue found a companion to take to a thing with Bonnie and Elena – but as far as Rue knew, the three were pretty exclusive with their friendship.

"Hope you don't mind."

Or maybe a companion had found _her_. In order to get an "in" to where his little brother was spending his time.

Just great. She could only imagine Damon Salvatore making the evening more awkward than it had been to begin with.

 _Truth_ , said her magic.

* * *

Despite Stefan's very practical objections, common courtesy (in no way related to common sense) won out, and Damon the homicidal vampire was invited into the Gilbert domicile.

Rue definitely needed to up the protections. Especially since she could feel how much stronger Damon was than Stefan, likely due to dietary differences.

At least the bundt cake Caroline had brought was good. Even better with coffee.

"You want something a little stronger in that?" Rue whispered to Stefan, nodding toward his own cup of coffee. "I know where the Gilbert booze stash is."

For a moment, Stefan turned his brooding attention away from the sitting room where his brother was, and looked as though he was seriously contemplating the offer. He shook his head.

"Can't imagine it improving the situation," he said.

"Personally, I agree with you," she commented. "But if I did drink, I would probably reserve drunkenness for being forced into awkward circumstances with my estranged sibling."

Stefan shot her a glance, and looked as though he might actually ask about the rather cold relationship between her and Bonnie – but then thought better of it. Possibly out of politeness, possibly because his brother would be able to hear them from the other room, even if they did continue in whispers. He shot her a slight smile instead, though it quickly dropped as they all shuffled into various seats around the sitting room.

"I did guess right on the coffee, though," she added more brightly. "Extra strong, extra black."

Before Stefan could respond, his brother interjected. It seemed like a common occurrence.

"You don't find straight black a little boring?" Damon said with a harmless grin.

As harmless as it could be with visible fangs, that is.

"I would have thought Miss No-First-Name-Given with the… spoon handle rings?" he raised an eyebrow. "Would be into something more mysterious."

"Coffee is coffee – I save the mystery for my tea," Rue said, making no move to fill in the blank regarding her name. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I could say the same," he replied with a smirk, his eyes darting over toward Bonnie for a moment.

Given that his sole information source seemed to be Caroline, and she would likely have only heard that this was yet another Bonnie-and-Elena thing, she could see where he might be confused. Especially since she remembered mentioning to him that she didn't exactly get along with her sibling.

"You two… know each other?" Elena asked looking between them as she sat on the couch next to her boyfriend, Stefan's pinched eyebrows seeming to echo the question.

"We talked long enough to exchange names, is all," Rue nearly rolled her eyes as she pulled the ottoman out for an extra seat.

"Or not exchange, as it were," Damon quickly rejoined.

Rue turned to face him.

"Bethany Ruth Laurel," she stated plainly, not wanting to toy with the more murdery of the two vampires she'd recently met.

"Well, you're no fun," he near-pouted. "I almost wanted to work for it."

'Or try to compel me about it maybe?' she thought to herself, wondering whether or not he knew she was a witch.

She shot him a slightly sarcastic smile over the top of her mug.

"You're still gonna call me Rue," she said.

"I am?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You are," she deadpanned.

He shrugged. If he hadn't currently been resting his weight on the arm of his chair, he probably would have put his hands into the gesture too.

"Maybe. For now," he nodded, as if to himself.

She wondered whether he'd ever been in theatre. His expressions, his idiosyncrasies seemed very geared toward dramatic effect.

Conversation died down for a moment as everyone settled, but it didn't last for long. Despite the dysfunction inherent to the room's occupants (which could be described in various horrifying combinations, such as: two pairs of estranged siblings; two predators geared toward eating sentient life; and four teenage girls), there were no awkward silences this time around. This was largely due to Caroline's compulsive need to fill them with chatter, should they arise.

Rue somewhat zoned out as the topic inevitably turned to Stefan and Elena, instead focusing her attention on Caroline herself. The ever-present scarf around her neck was highly suspect – and while Caroline did have something of an inferiority complex toward Elena, Rue couldn't help but think that Damon had directed his "girlfriend" toward the topic.

And honestly, the whole age difference thing was something that bothered her a little in regards to Stefan and Elena, let alone the even older (looking) Damon and the compelled Caroline.

She wondered whether she could slip some vervain into Caroline's coffee, but had the distinct feeling it might just make Damon react with violence.

"It's just 'cause her parents died – she's just totally going through a 'blah' phase," Caroline said blithely. "She used to be _way_ more fun."

Definitely compelled. Caroline was blunt at the best of times, but very rarely flippantly cruel like that – especially to her friends.

Caroline, even not in her right mind, seemed to notice the warning look Bonnie shot her.

"And I mean that with complete sensitivity."

Damon shamelessly used this to segue into a little spiel about he and Stefan had lost people too – despite Stefan's attempted to avert him – including a particular "her."

Naturally, this caused Elena to glance over at Stefan, newly unsure of their relationship.

Rue wanted to sigh her exasperation about how easy it was for just a few words to sow that much unease – but she had to keep in mind that no one had quite the same gift for truth that she did. Still, Elena would have to be particularly obtuse to not notice that Damon meant to stir up trouble.

Some small talk later, and the group thankfully split before things could become irreparably awkward – Elena's timing for doing the dishes was possibly deliberate toward that aim, honestly.

A few seconds later, Damon followed Elena into the kitchen – Stefan looking as though he was intently listening to whatever was going on in the other room. Bonnie seemed to sense the tension, and moved toward the kitchen as well.

Rue followed suit, before Caroline could drag her into an awkward conversation about Elena with Stefan. Damon passed her on his way out, shooting her a wink.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and said not a word.

She wordlessly helped Bonnie and Elena with the dishes, both of them seemingly lost in thought – or perhaps unwilling to talk about Stefan and his brother when they were in the other room (or when _she_ was in the room with them). She was almost tempted to cast another eavesdropping spell Caroline walked into the kitchen as well, leaving the two vampire brothers alone in the sitting room – but honestly, she didn't really want to be any more involved with the vampire drama than what she needed in order to protect a few select people.

Even if her academic curiosity was burning at the thought of quizzing the two of them on the history they'd experienced – particularly their dealings with other witches. While the two of them weren't exactly the oldest of vampires, they had a certain inside perspective on her hometown that she found somewhat intriguing.

One's place of birth could be very important in magic, after all.

But at the same time, Damon clearly had a vendetta – against his brother, yes, but given what she'd read in Jonathan Gilbert's journals, their history with the town just meant that he might have more than one target.

Still, focusing on the vampires… their strength levels wasn't the only difference between them. That strangely familiar… something that had struck her the first time she met Stefan was entirely absent from Damon. It wasn't just something that all vampires had upon close inspection. It was more like…

Her eyes darted over to Elena.

The two of them – Stefan and Elena, that is – felt oddly similar to her magical senses, if she was actually looking, that is. It was strangely difficult to notice. If she hadn't gotten the strange feel from Stefan _before_ he'd started hanging around Elena, she might've considered that they'd simply rubbed off on each other (were magical STDs a thing?). And if Damon hadn't lacked the same similarity, she might have thought that Stefan had once had an indiscretion with a Gilbert at some point when he was human (which could have been _very_ awkward for his current dating life). No, it wasn't _familial_ resemblance; rather, it was more like they were the same _type_. The same _species_. But not in the vampire/human sense, if that made any sense.

She wondered for a moment whether or not it was the reason they'd seemingly snapped together so quickly – like calls to like, and all.

Rather than _truth_ , she received the distinct and disappointing feel of an _almost_. It was very unsettling – like her supposition wasn't all the way correct, or perhaps correct for the wrong reasons.

As it was, the conundrum kept her inside her own head for the rest of the evening until she was back in the car with her sister, on the way back to Grams' place.

"So?" Bonnie asked.

Rue blinked a little. "So what?"

" _So_? Stefan?"

Rue sucked in an exasperated breath, but gave her honest opinion.

"Seems nice enough. Then again, I don't know him well enough to say he isn't hiding something awful."

Bonnie didn't answer. From what Rue could tell, she seemed torn between the good impression Stefan had left her with (her not entirely believed witchy feelings notwithstanding) and the strange tension he and his brother had brought with them.

Honestly, Rue didn't care as long as their business didn't involve certain people. And she'd make sure it didn't.

* * *

The next day was the day of the Timberwolves kick-off game – an event of chilled September night air, dubious amounts of alcohol, and obnoxious "school spirit" screaming that Rue was happy to avoid. Instead, she spent her Saturday simply writing poetry, making some music, reading some interesting books (journals and grimoires were all the rage these days). She even whipped up a cheesecake recipe that she'd been dying to try out since she'd picked it up in New York that summer.

Sharing it – and a good cup of tea – with her Grams was a good way to unwind. Especially since she had no problems with picking up their little lesson session she'd missed out on by going to dinner with Bonnie. She refrained from bringing up the whole vampire menace thing. Sheila probably already knew.

Sunday arrived with news of yet another murder by the wild "animal." Rue honestly couldn't say that she was sad to see Mr. Tanner go – she idly mused over sending Damon flowers or something. But the fact that it had happened at the game only made her wonder how close he might have been to killing someone more personally consequential to her.

When she went to pick up Jeremy on Monday, she found him with a bruise on his face that had turned a nasty purple. She didn't ask – it would be easy enough to pick up what had happened from school chatter later (if she wasn't already spot on about her guess involving Tyler Lockwood and Vicki Donovan) – in favor of handing him a coffee with vervain in it, looking him over for something more permanently vervainable. When her eyes glanced at his wrists, she knew she'd hit the jackpot. He wore a leather strap with a buckle, which she knew he'd fashioned from one of his father's belts; it'd be easy enough to treat.

Rather than wait for him to take it off – the fact that he basically never did is what made it good protection, after all – she headed toward the back of the school and sat beneath a tree near the stoner pit. She took a tiny vial out of her pocket, and dumped a small puddle of vervain extract onto her palm. A quick spell later, and the vervain gusted invisibly through the air to seep into the leather of her friend's wristband.

Next on the list was Elena, but Rue shortly realized the new necklace the girl was sporting already contained vervain. She casually asked about where she'd gotten it, and was answered without suspicion – Rue's love for older pieces of jewelry, and retro things in general was well known.

It was a point in the Stefan column, definitely, that he was protecting her against compulsion; even his own – and Rue could imagine how easy it would be to get out of trouble with your significant other if you could hypnotize them.

Jenna was easy enough to cover too. The next time she was over at the Gilbert house, Rue simply walked into Jenna's room and spelled a little vervain into all her jewelry.

As it was, she seemed to have doled out the vervain just in time. Just before the Founder's Ball, the news – which she habitually watched, if only for the amusement of seeing through all the lies – proclaimed that the "killer animal" responsible for the recent deaths had been caught after it attacked a hunter. All that meant to Rue was that Damon was covering his tracks for some reason. And the more subtle a vampire felt like being, the more they would use compulsion.

Honestly, she was glad for the change. Vervain didn't exactly prevent vampires from dealing out violent death – they had more ways to kill than compulsion and drinking.

Still, the switch in method also made her wary of going to the upcoming Founder's Ball. With vampires' penchant for drama (which Damon seemed to have second helping of), it seemed like the perfect target for something bad. Particularly given that this particular vampire had personal history with the Founders.

At least the days leading up to it were surprisingly calm.

Usually, she and Jeremy would reluctantly pair up for the night. It being his mother's favorite event meant that the entire Gilbert Family simply had to go. This time, the fact that it _had been_ his mother's favorite event meant that he'd elected to stay home.

Rue would have probably done the same – maybe gone over to the Gilbert house so they could be introverted in the same room or something. But the fact that she was wary of going to the Founder's Ball probably meant that she should go to the Founder's Ball. It might give her a clue about what to expect from the supernatural BS department in the foreseeable future.

Not to mention going of her own volition spared her another round of her Grams asking her to keep an eye on Bonnie that night.

She didn't necessarily mind dolling herself up or anything – that at least, could be made a much smoother process via a modest application of magic. But no amount of spells or rituals could improve the schmoozy atmosphere that hung over events like the Founder's Ball; it would require radically altering the human condition, and _that_ never went the way a witch wanted it to.

So she slipped on a fancy-ish dress – a pastel yellow halterneck with a lacey overlay – tamed her hair into a low bun, put on a little makeup, and headed out for an evening of pointless mulling about.

Like the other guests, she was greeted at the door by Richard and Carol Lockwood. A brief, possibly sincere, compliment about her dress later, and she was invited in by them. Really, for all that the Founder Council attempted to be an anti-vampire force, they were _so_ clueless. She had no doubt Stefan – and worse, Damon – would both have invitations as well, soon enough.

She figured they must be completely in the dark about daylight rings, because otherwise she doubted they'd so easily invite in complete strangers indoors with the unmistakable string of vampire attacks. They were counting on the fading sunshine to filter out any blood-drinking predators.

She contemplated going straight for the heritage display. She was actually somewhat interested in what they might have gathered (and conversely, what they were censoring – likely anything to do with slavery or vampires, probably). Plus, history and vampires kinda went together – she wouldn't be surprised if Stefan or Damon showed up to look either.

Then again, she could be wrong, and they'd actually avoid it entirely. She wasn't exactly an expert on vampire psychology.

So instead, she grabbed a glass full of root beer from the drink bar and kept an eye on the entrance. Damon entered with Caroline on his arm – yet another scarf around her neck, Rue noted with a frown. A quick exchange between the couple and Carol Lockwood had Damon easily stepping over the threshold of the home. Shortly after, Bonnie walked in alone, Stefan (with a brief "come in" from the Mayor) and Elena following shortly after. They all mulled around for a bit, chatting here and there, checking out the refreshments.

Honestly, she was surprised that Bonnie wasn't sticking around Caroline or Elena – she supposed there was the whole "third-wheel" thing to consider, or it was possibly an attempt to give the couples "alone time." Still, the fact that Bonnie was keeping away from the two vampires meant that Rue didn't have to keep such a close eye on her; rather than keep her physically in sight, Rue reserved a more magical sense to be on the lookout for her sister, and decided to look over the heritage display.

Rue eyed up the revolvers and early repeating rifles on one table, the collection of handmade lace on another, and even a corner with the dress worn to the original party by Honoria Fell. The vampires and their dates came in and out, emitting various amounts of tension – but still not near Bonnie, and still not her problem.

When she was done, she got a refill on her root beer, and picked up a plate of cake. She did want something sweet, but it was mostly to stop herself from wandering out of the "public approved" areas of the manor to snoop around. The temptation was great, particularly since she'd long known something was out of the ordinary with the Lockwood Family – the occasional flash of yellow in their eyes when they got even angrier than usual.

On the other hand, it seemed that others weren't so conscientious. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Damon pulling Caroline out of the room, and sensed them go up the stairs to the off limits part of the home. It made her intensely curious, and she nearly followed them.

Then she sensed a flair of magic coming the dining room – with the antique silverware displayed as it would have been in 1864 and all – where her sister was.

She peered around the corner, and found her sister staring at an array of lit candles, her expression between awed and unnerved. A moment later, Bonnie caught sight of her, and only looked more lost than before. She practically fled the room – and the party entirely, Rue sensed.

With her protectee gone, and little else to do after finishing looking over the display, Rue decided to follow suit. After she'd finished her cake.

Rather than squeeze her way through the front room, she went out through the backyard. The Lockwood's lawn was perfectly manicured (especially the day of the Founder's Ball), so she slipped off her shoes so she could feel the grass on her toes. It was a lovely night, despite the noise of the party in the background.

When she saw someone collapsed on the grass, her first thought was one of the teenagers had snuck a bit too much alcohol. She slipped her shoes back on so as not to step in something nasty. But when she got closer, it became apparent that the only thing she was in danger of slipping in was blood.

It was Caroline. Face slack, and blood oozing from the vicious bite on her neck – but she was still breathing, thankfully.

"Shit."

Rue immediately knelt beside her, whispering a quick spell to staunch the bleed. She numbed the pain, half her mind occupied with looking out for Damon – but she didn't sense him, or his brother, at the party anymore. She leaned in closer to Caroline, wondering if she might find any more clues. The smell of champagne oozed from the girl's half-open mouth, and beneath that was the unmistakable scent of vervain.

She'd consumed a spiked drink, and then had her blood drunk.

Had Damon been taken out?

Even if he'd been only temporarily inconvenienced, it was the perfect opportunity. Rue carefully lifted Caroline's head into her lap, and placed her palms on either side of the blonde's face. Healing of all sorts was her prerogative, and Caroline certainly needed it. The only thing that had stopped her before was the thought of Damon simply doing worse than whatever she fixed.

It took a solid minute of muttered spells before Rue was confident that all traces of compulsion had been cleared away. Then she healed the physical wounds as well, making sure to leave enough behind that the poor girl wouldn't think it had all been a delusion. That would only set her mental health back – and in many ways, mental harm was much harder to deal with than the physical.

And anyway, if Caroline was going to be targeted by a vampire, then she deserved to know what had happened to her. That thought in mind, Rue took out the little notebook she always carried in her purse, and wrote a note to slip into the girl's clutch.

"You come find me later," she whispered.

When she heard the back door open once more, she gently laid Caroline's head back on the grass. Not really wanting to explain the unconscious girl to whoever was coming, she made to walk out of sight around the corner of the manor. Her foot kicked up against some fallen object in the grass – and when she looked down, she saw a diamond-shaped crystal, set into an old, oval iron frame. Considering its proximity to the scene of a vampire attack, she didn't want to risk it being simply something dropped from someone's purse over the course of the party (or perhaps something snitched from the vast collection of antiques within), and bent to pick it up.

Immediately, she felt the magic tied to the object. Her eyes widened, and she slipped it into her purse for further examination when she had a little more light and privacy.


	5. Chapter 5

Laurels – Chapter Five

* * *

Looking the crystal over in the light of her room brought Rue a strange sense of familiarity, and a half-remembered inkling about one of Grams' many photo albums had her finding an answer rather quickly – in the picture of Emily Bennett.

What was Emily Bennett's talisman doing in the grass next to a vampire's victim? And perhaps more importantly, what sort of magic had she tied to it?

Rue wracked her brains, trying to recall if Emily Bennett's grimoire had been among those that she'd seen before. It could have been in the personal Bennett Family edition her Grams had collected and compiled together – the one that she was only ever allowed to borrow, and never take out of a particular room in the house. (The one that she had secretly made a copy of, just like she had with the Gilbert Journals).

As it was, the search kept her up the whole night. She ended up having to "heal" the symptoms of her sleep deprivation – a skill she rarely took advantage of, due to the completely wired feeling it left her with. She took a warm shower, then padded down to the kitchen for a cup of tea to hold. By the time it was cold, she felt much calmer; more importantly, Grams had gotten herself up to make her morning pot of coffee.

"Morning Grams," she said, wondering whether or not heating her tea with a little magic would get her a scolding for frivolous use of her power.

"You're up early, Sassafras," Sheila replied with an arched eyebrow. "What's the occasion?"

"Didn't sleep well is all," Rue shrugged. "Thought up some questions."

"Not more vampire trivia, is it?" Sheila asked, smiling at her over the top of her coffee mug. "I've already pretty much told you everything I know."

Their last little magic lesson session had been filled with questions regarding the vampiric species – highly relevant, given their current residence in the town. Vampires weren't the end-all-be-all of her interest in the magic of the world, so she hadn't exactly focused on them in particular during her studies. It had admittedly left some important gaps in her knowledge that had needed filling; though, Rue did admit she might have been a little… relentless with her questions.

But even then, she still doubted that she had actually been told _everything_ her Grams knew.

"Actually, I wanted to ask about the magicks practiced by Bennett Family individuals," Rue said. "I know you've mentioned some of it in our history lessons, but I was wondering if you would tell me more."

Sheila raised an eyebrow. "Anyone specific?"

"Which Bennett lived here around 1864?" Rue asked, rather than straight out saying the name.

"Well, now. That would be… Emily Bennett," Sheila said. "An exceptionally powerful witch of our bloodline."

"I don't recall her name being among those who have had their grimoires added to the family edition," Rue stated.

Sheila frowned.

"It's a sad thing, her story. She was burned at the stake because of all the paranoia here when that vampire hullabaloo was going down. Honestly, her being caught in the first place probably had something to do with the other supernatural beings in town at the time," Sheila mused.

She took a sip of her coffee.

"Her grimoire was lost. Perhaps destroyed – but I also wouldn't put it past someone to have taken it."

"One of the vampires?" Rue asked with interest.

She wondered whether she'd find Emily's grimoire if she searched the Salvatore Boarding House.

"Or maybe one of the vampire hunters," Sheila suggested. "Since it seems like they were aware of her true nature, it wouldn't be a stretch for them to believe her spellbook could have something useful."

Rue hummed a little as she took a sip of her tea.

"Why the sudden interest?" Sheila asked, her tone more curious than suspicious.

"Just wondering if she wrote anything about Damon and Stefan Salvatore," Rue said, which was true, but also something she'd just come up with on the spot.

She wanted to keep the little curiosity of the amulet to herself for now. For all she knew, her Grams would want to try to contact Emily directly. Rue wasn't exactly fond of the thought, given that she didn't exactly subscribe to Spirit Magic (she didn't use it, for one – and on a more personal note, because it was the main reason that Grams favored Bonnie, who as the firstborn would be inherently more connected to the Bennett spirits; the spirits were traditional, and that included the concept of inheritance determined by order of birth).

Frankly, she didn't want to have to deal with some long-dead ancestor of hers when she could possibly find answers on her own merits.

Sheila's face grew a little sterner. "Don't go gettin' drawn into vampire business any more than you have to; look to your own first. They have a habit of dragging witches down with them."

"I'll try Grams," Rue said honestly.

She had literally zero interest in being anyone's lackey – much less a vampire's. Still, Sheila would likely qualify her urge to pin down and interrogate vampires about their experiences as "getting drawn into vampire business."

"Good girl," Sheila said, reaching across the table to place a warm, if wrinkled, hand against her granddaughter's cheek. "Now aren't you gonna be late for school?"

The day passed quickly and uneventfully. She did notice that Stefan was missing from class (and the school entirely, she could feel) – hopefully burying his homicidal brother or something. In addition, Caroline, despite her apparent decision to act completely normal, shot her a few strange looks.

And okay, Jeremy was unnaturally happy when she picked him up – but after she'd caught sight of a hickey on his neck, she'd chalked it up to another Vicki thing, and was even less inclined to initiate conversation regarding his current affairs (pun intended) than usual.

At any rate, her search for Emily Bennett's grimoire had only gotten started. She'd decided against relying on Grams any further, partly because she wanted to figure things out on her own and, again, she didn't really want to be told to simply contact Emily's spirit. And if she wasn't going to go to Grams, she absolutely wasn't going to go to Stefan or Damon for possible answers, even if they had been available. That left another contemporary source.

Jonathan Gilbert's journals. Or rather, her copies of them. They really were coming in useful nowadays.

She spent the entire rest of the day poring over them in her bedroom. She trawled through his thoughts – him knowing that the other Founders seemed to think he was nuts because of his inventions, his crush on the local apothecary, burning down the church with the vampires within, him and the Council identifying Emily as a witch and sending her to a similar fate with the rest of them… and then, his mention of "the witch's spellbook."

 _The Fell Family believed it should be I, not them, who protected the witch's spell book._

 _But I feared she would haunt me from the hereafter._

 _They mocked my fear but it was Giuseppe Salvatore who removed my fear. He told me he would protect the secret of the spell book._

 _He said he would carry it to his grave._

So it did come down to the Salvatores after all.

After a long moment of mulling it over, she resolved to put her curiosity regarding the amulet and grimoire on the back burner. She had only the smallest and vaguest of leads, and since learning more would likely involve interrogating the local vampire problem, she felt it would be prudent to take things very slowly – and honestly, the fact that she had no clue what was actually going on with them at the moment only enforced that.

Slightly disgruntled at the halt to her knowledge hunt, Rue slipped the amulet into her desk drawer, and turned in for the night.

* * *

 _Pale eyes peer up at her from beneath the floorboards, where they are hidden from the deathly sun. An old grandfather's pendulum sways back and forth and back again at the end of the hallway, and the eyes shudder to a close as time draws inward._

 _A cry for help sounds out, more thought than spoken, and goes unheard because the hearer is hidden from him by burning flowers._

 _He changes the path of his thoughts, and some distance away in a field of graves, another hears. She stumbles to her feet, incoherent twice over, and walks where he tells her._

 _A door opens. A cage opens. A vein opens._

 _Her eyes shut._

 _He escapes into the night._

 _As Rue peers out of the doorway after him, a grating voice speaks behind her._

" _It is coming."_

 _She turns to look, and sees Emily Bennett standing there, grim-faced. The amulet around her neck sparks a warning._

" _It must end here, where it started."_

 _Rue looks around again, and finds they have moved. The crumbling, blackened husk of Old Fell's Church sits before them._

 _Emily turns to face her, reaching out a hand._

" _Please help me."_

 _As Emily's hand touches her face, a blinding ray of light bursts forth to strike at the ancestor witch. She screams, burning as she once did in life, and fades._

Rue awakes with her lips set in a frown, and immediately turns to look at her bedside table.

There was a lamp, a water bottle, a fiction book she'd been reading before her research binge – and atop that book rested Emily's talisman, which she distinctly remembered leaving in her desk the night before.

Had Emily tried to possess her?

Not exactly the best way to get someone to do you a favor. Very rude. Not to mention ineffective in other ways, since possession was one of the many things she was protected from.

Damn, spirits were so annoying. Even if they were family.

Especially if they were family.

Still, she had gotten a few clues from the dream. And since it was Saturday, her schedule was free to make a visit to Old Fell's Church – where the vampires had been rounded up and burned in 1864.

As if to prove her wrong, a knock came on her door. Knowing it was likely Grams, she quickly grabbed the amulet and hid it away again – this time in a spell-protected pouch, which she then shoved beneath her pillow. It was as good a temporary hiding spot as any.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see not her grandmother, but a certain blonde cheerleader.

"Caroline?"

"Good morning, Rue," Caroline attempted her usual perky smile, but it was distinctly… off. "I brought some drinks!"

Rue looked down at the cup holder Caroline held out – as though the offering would distract her from how strained the other girl's smile was – and silently took the cup marked with her name, opening her bedroom door wider as an invitation to come in. When Caroline bustled in, Rue shut the door behind her, and retook her spot on the bed.

"Thanks for the drink. But you didn't come here just to bring me a…" she took a sip. "A pumpkin spice cappuccino."

Caroline, now sitting in the cushy office chair near Rue's desk, seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, she set down her own drink, and reached into her purse. She brought out a small piece of paper, which Rue recognized as the note she had written the night of the Founder's Ball.

"You… said you have answers?" Caroline asked, more than said, her free hand fluttering toward her neck – or rather, the concealer-covered bites.

"Yes, I do," Rue said seriously. "Are you certain you want to know? I can make sure you're at least partially protected, even if you choose not to."

"Protected?" Caroline asked, her voice wavering slightly. "From… Damon?"

Rue nodded. "And others like him."

"There are _more_?" Caroline burst out, before clapping a hand over her mouth.

Rue nodded again.

"Do you want to know?" she repeated.

Caroline sat in silence for a moment.

"I want to know," she whispered.

"Okay," Rue said, a little more nervous than she let on. "I've… never exactly explained this all to someone before, so why don't we start with you asking whatever you like?"

"What _is_ he?" Caroline blurted, leaning forward so far she was almost out of her chair. "I mean, he's… he's not human! His _face_ —his eyes and his teeth. And why did I forget what he did to me? _How_ could I have?"

"Damon is a vampire," Rue said calmly.

When Caroline simply stared at her, as though the thought had already crossed her mind and she hadn't wanted to believe it, Rue continued.

"Vampires generally look human, but when they feel strong emotion – particularly anger or hunger – their faces shift to reveal their true appearance. Among other abilities, like increased physical capabilities, vampire can also do something called 'compulsion.' It's basically like a more sinister version of a Jedi mind trick. Damon made you forget."

"He made me… he made me…" Caroline muttered, her eyes wide as she clutched at her drink.

Rue suspected it was heavily spiked. She sipped at her own to give the other girl some time to process. She also wondered whether or not she should actually ask about the specifics of what Damon had done to the other girl – would that be cathartic, or impede healing? In the end, she decided to watch Caroline for a few more days; if she seemed to not be dealing with it well, then maybe talking things out would help more than hurt.

"Can I stop it?" Caroline asked in a small voice.

Rue stood from the bed, padding over to her little windowsill garden. She plucked a sprig of vervain, and handed it over.

"This plant is called vervain. Vampires are weakened by it – it literally burns them. But more importantly, if you have some on you somewhere, it protects you from compulsion. Put this in a piece of jewelry, and wear it. You could also try ingesting some, like in a tea or something."

Caroline took the vervain with an almost incredulous expression.

"I just... wear this?" she asked. "How does that even work?"

"You mean, why do vampires have an aversion to it?" Rue clarified. "I'm pretty sure it has to do with how they were created."

"Created?" Caroline asked, her voice a little sharper. "You don't mean one turning a person into one of them, right?"

"No, I mean whatever spell or ritual was used to start the species," Rue said calmly.

"So magic is a thing?" Caroline said, her eyes wide again. "Wait—is Bonnie actually a _witch_? Are _you_ a witch?!"

Rue smiled slightly, and held out her hand. A tiny ball of light flickered into existence above her palm.

"The Bennett Family has been made up of witches since before the name was Bennett," she told the other girl, and then gently tossed the little orb of light to her.

Caroline instinctively reached to catch it, her fingers curling tighter around its pleasant warmth. She stared down at it, her expression awed. After a long moment of marveling, she looked back up at Rue.

"Then why doesn't Bonnie think it's real?" Caroline asked in confusion.

Rue hesitated slightly, not really wanting to get into the nitty gritty of her family's dysfunction.

"Well… Rudy—our dad doesn't exactly… approve of magic, so Grams decided to wait to bring her into things until Bonnie came into her power," she explained as simply as she could. "It's only recently that her abilities have become undeniable."

Caroline seemed to sense there was a bit more to the story, but for once, she decided not to be nosy. Instead, she simply contemplated everything she had been told, nearly kneading the ball of light between her fingers.

"Is the… vervain the only thing that can stop a vampire?" she asked.

Rue shook her head.

"It's a major weakness, but it won't completely kill them unless you basically drown them in it. You need wood, fire, dismemberment, or magic to actually put them down for good."

"Wood – like a stake?" Caroline asked.

"Yep – right in the heart. Although anywhere else will still slow them down; I think wooden bullets are a thing now too."

Caroline's eyebrows shot up.

Rue smiled slightly, before her face turned serious. "Caroline, it's important that you don't rely on vervain completely. It stops compulsion, and if it's in your blood it will stop a vampire from drinking from you – but they're much stronger and faster than humans. They can do more than just feed and compel."

Caroline swallowed, but nodded her head.

"Is…" she hesitated. "Did I have vervain in my blood the night of the Founder's Ball?"

"Yes. From what I could tell, someone slipped it into your champagne because they knew Damon would drink from you."

"Is that what made me start remembering?" Caroline asked softly.

Rue blinked.

"Um. No actually. Vervain only prevents future compulsion, it doesn't get rid of what's already happened. I healed the damage he'd done you that night – and that included the non-physical stuff."

Caroline leaned forward in her seat again. "You can heal people too?"

"It's actually one of my specialties," Rue admitted with a smile.

"Specialty? Like you're better at some kinds of magic than others?" Caroline asked.

"Yep. Speaking of which…"

Rue padded over to the vanity in the corner of her room and extracted a jewelry box. She sat back down on her bed, and patted the spot next to her. Caroline was quick to join her, her eyes burning with curiosity. Rue opened the box and began sifting through the little collection of trinkets.

"One of my best areas is protective enchantments," she told the other girl, holding up a silver ring with a yellow cat's-eye stone. "This ring basically has the magical version of 'an eye for an eye' – if someone tries to hurt you while you're wearing it, the damages bounces back on them instead. Though, if it reflects too much, I'd have to recharge it, so to speak."

She fiddled with the edge of the gem's setting and a moment later, it bent back on a small hinge, revealing the tiny hollow beneath.

"And, you can put a little vervain right in here, so it'll protect you from compulsion too."

She held out the ring to Caroline, who had been watching with interest.

"Wait… 'protect you' as in protect _me_?" she asked with wide eyes.

Rue nodded slightly. "As far as I know, Damon is out of the picture – but that might be only temporary."

Especially if her earlier dream meant what she thought it meant.

"If he – or anyone – tries to hurt you, this should keep you safe."

The next moment, she had an armful of hugging cheerleader and a face-full of blonde curls. After a few surprised seconds, she hugged back.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you_."

* * *

They talked well into the afternoon, speeding straight through lunch with a couple slapdash sandwiches. Caroline asked some more questions – a bit more about vampires (Damon had apparently already told her some things when she'd been under his compulsion) and magic in general, but mostly about why Damon Salvatore had specifically targeted her (if it was indeed a specific targeting).

Rue had only had to bring up the events that he'd used Caroline to get an invite to for them to get an idea (and hadn't that revelation about him retrieving Emily's crystal from a hidden compartment in Lockwood Manor been _interesting_ ). Caroline was well-connected, both through her Founding Family status and her personal friendship with Elena – who was now going out with Stefan Salvatore, the other vampire in town.

Caroline had not exactly been happy to realize that, and it had taken Rue assuring her that Elena had vervain too for her to calm down.

Still, all in all, Caroline left Rue's room much more confident than she had been entering it – off to once more organize the social gatherings of Mystic Falls down to the minutiae.

Oh, and now considering Rue as a good friend, whereas before they'd basically been casual friendly acquaintances. Rue knew this because Caroline had somehow wheedled her into taking part in the car wash fundraiser; Rue had known the other girl long enough to realize that when she decided to be your friend, she involved you in her projects.

It was… nice. To have someone she could talk about the more supernatural things. (Grams wasn't exactly an option because she was _Grams_ ). Honestly, she was glad that she'd started the healing process for Caroline's mental and emotional trauma regarding Damon, otherwise she doubted their little Q&A would have gone so well – let alone gain her a new friend.

Still, as surprisingly rewarding as her day had been so far, she was looking to hit the jackpot, so to speak.

She grabbed the amulet (still in its pouch), called a brief farewell to her grandmother, and trudged off into the forest toward Old Fell's Church. She wondered what Emily's magic had to do with the deaths of all those vampires – if she had helped the town with exterminating them, it was pretty awful of them to then turn around and burn her at the stake.

She tromped through the woods, enjoying the crunching of leaves and the beams of sunlight coming through the trees. It didn't take long for her to reach her destination.

Well, more like it didn't take long for the ground to give way beneath her – no, for the old boards hidden beneath a thin layer of ground to give way beneath her. She landed hard enough that she lost her balance and ended up on her hip, rubble and splinters of rotten wood raining down around her.

A hissed breath escaped her. She had the presence of mind to push her arm across the floor, sweeping away debris to clear a spot so she could safely roll onto her back. When she did so, the bright flare of agony from her hip lessened slightly. She probed against it gently with her hand, through the new rip in her jeans.

Fractured.

Rue grimaced, but nonetheless focused through the pain to mutter a quick spell. The remaining bits of the makeshift ceiling to the chamber she was now in practically disintegrated, allowing the sun to filter in all the stronger. She gave a slight sigh of relief, and allowed the warmth of the light to ease her way into another spell – a healing one, this time. The wound quickly faded, leaving behind only a slight ache, and the feeling of being stretched a little too thin.

Sitting, up, she glanced around at her new surroundings. It was a small chamber. There was a drain of some sort on one wall, a black hole of a tunnel in another. The ground was man-made, but uneven – she'd landed hip-first on one particularly sticky-uppy bit of stone. It was obviously part of Fell's Church; not so obvious was the reason it had been hidden.

She turned, and the answer crept a little closer –in the wall across from her was a smooth block of stone with an inverted pentagram carved, deep and rough, into its surface. It looked like a doorway.

Intrigued, she shuffled a little closer, prodding at it with curious magic. It was obviously a seal of some sort, which shielded whatever was behind it; a better look might tell her what was being sealed – and if Emily had been the one to do it. A couple feet away, she paused, and put a hand to her jacket pocket. Given the way the amulet was practically vibrating in its pouch, Emily-involvement seemed more and more likely.

She continued forward.

Even closer, she began to hear something coming from the seal. Or from behind it. She had to pretty much put her ear to the stone to make out what it was.

Whispers. Angry, despairing. Weak.

She backed away a few steps, contemplating.

Given the time frame of Emily's presence in Mystic Falls, and that of Fell's Church burning to the ground – and the unfinished business that had Emily attempting to possess her, combined with the presence of voices… there was one obvious answer to the mystery of the hidden chamber, protected by magic.

And she wondered: if she was able to extend her senses beyond the seal, would she feel the languishing presence of twenty-seven desiccated vampires, saved from the flames?

And why was Emily so anxious to deal with them now?


End file.
